Naruto of the Uzumaki Clan
by Phibriglex
Summary: Based off of what is known of the Uzumaki clan. Naruto is taken from the village at the age of 6 to learn Uzumaki Fuinjutsu from his grandfather. Coming back 10 years later, he will make himself known to the world. Strong/Smart Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

**True Uzumaki**

**A/N: This story will have Naruto using the Uzumaki clan Fuinjutsu extensively. This fic will aalso include some elements from Bleach (mainly Hoho) and Veritas (some elements from EOTL).**

"Duh Herro." – normal talk

"**Can I talk to the sombodeeeee?" – Non-human talk**

"_My name is the Ranga-ha-tima-mago-yum-umdid-ram-geh" – Thought_

"**_It is spelled the Wworq Gui" – Non-human thought_**

"THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH! DYNAMIC ENTRY!" –Techniques/skills

"**THUNDERBOLT"**** – Non human techniques...yeah...**

"_This will be used loosely where it'll apply or where ever I feel like putting it"__– Misc._

"**_June 23_****_rd_****_ is maf birfday. Dun ferget that."_****_ – Date/Setting_**

~~~~~~~~~~DUH~~~~~~~~~~HELLO~~~~~~~~~~ break for scene/time . anything.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. The Naruto series belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo, and Veritas belongs to Yoon Joon-sik. Any other anime/manga/video game series that I may allude to or take elements from are owned by their respective creators/owners.**** Name used above and WWORQ GUI belongs to whoever owns Ownage Pranks.**

**_Chapter One: Heritage and Training_**

**_Konohagakure no Sato_**

**_Six Years After Kyubi Attack_**

An old man walked down the road towards Konoha. Seeing the large gates up ahead, he seemed to pick up his pace. This man donned a black and red qi pao. The loose clothes seemed to hide his physique and allowed for a wide range of movements. He wore pieces of armour above the silken robes, reminiscent of the samurai from ages ago. Of course, the only samurai now were from the Land of Iron. The armour bore many scars of battle from the Second Shinobi World War. All in all, this man held a regal air about him, his back straight, long strands of greying white hair trailed behind him, bunched together in a knot very much like the Hyuga clan. As he got near the gates of Konoha, he stopped when he heard a voice call out.

"Halt! Please surrender your travel papers and identification for inspection." Called out one of the two 'Eternal Chunin' namely, Kotetsu.

"Here they are. I hope everything is in order." The man provided his papers to the chunin. As Kotetsu examined the documents, he decided to ask questions according to standard protocol.

"What is your reason for visiting Konoha?"

"I'm mainly here to talk to the Hokage to discuss matters pertaining my clan. Other than that, I would like to visit family." The man answered politely. Although his family were dead, and he was just here to pay respects, he was still technically here to visit his family.

"And which clan are you from?" Kotetsu asked, now finished inspecting the papers and handing it back to the man. The man raised an eyebrow at the question. _'Did he even look at my papers at all?'_

"The Uzumaki Clan...you DID inspect my papers didn't you?" The man asked in a 'are you stupid?' tone.

"Err...yeah... wait, I thought the Uzumaki Clan was wiped out during the Shinobi Wars?" Kotetsu asked, this time truely intrigued. Izumo walked up next to him, wondering what took so long just to look over some papers of an old man. Catching a little of what was last said, Izumo decided to pitch in.

"Yeah, they were. Why do you need to know?" Izumo asked his buddy.

"Well, this guy here claims he's part of the Uzumaki clan."

"Did you read his name?" Izumo asked his friend as if he was stupid.

"Err...yeah." Kotetsu answered, now feeling a little stupid.

"And was his family name Uzumaki?" Izumo decided to take it another step.

"Yes" Kotetsu now felt really, really stupid.

"Then he IS probably some of the last remnants of the Uzumaki clan. They WERE spread out across the Shinobi Nations last I heard." Izumo informed his friend. That's when the old man decided to butt in.

"Well, this young man certainly knows his history." The old man said while pointing at Izumo. Izumo flushed in embarrassment from the praise. Scratching the back of his head he chuckled a bit. Kotetsu decided he had enough and learn more about this man that was one of the last surviving members of a clan once feared and admired by everyone.

"You said you were here to visit family, we don't know any Uzumaki in this village, except one. And he's quite the prankster. Last I heard he was an orphan." Kotetsu grinned at what little Naruto would pull around the village to gain attention. He trailed off at the end a little sadly. This news however was somewhat troubling to the old man. Troubling, yet a little sense of hope had filled him. _'Did Kushina have a child? Why was I not informed of this?'_ Now very interested the old man decided to ask the questions.

"You said you only knew one Uzumaki correct?" He asked sternly. Sensing the seriousness, both chunin stopped laughing and answered at the same time.

"Yes." They answered with a nod of the head.

"Then tell me, would you have heard of a woman named Kushina Uzumaki?" the old man asked, now with a hint of sadness in his eyes. The chunin pair's opened wide in recognition.

"Of course, the Hokage's wife, who wouldn't know of her?" Izumo answered by himself this time. He turned to look at Kotetsu who looked away who looked a little shameful that he didn't know. Izumo sweatdropped.

"Yes, she was my daughter." Both chunin's eyes were wide as dinner plates now. "She had been selected to be the next Jinchuriki of the Kyubi no Yoko because of her special chakra...Now, what's this of a living male Uzumaki in Konoha?" The man asked. His seriousness came back. Snapping out of their stupor, they answered his question.

"Hai, his name is Naruto Uzumaki, a little prankster. We're good friends of his." Izumo answered again. Kotetsu chuckled a little.

"Yeah, we would often direct the ANBU chasing after him in the wrong direction. But he's surprisingly fast for his age isn't he?" Kotetsu added, more a reply to his friend than anything. The man looked to be in deep thought. He looked up and asked another question.

"How old is young Naruto?" This question raised some flags within the chunin's minds. They looked into the man's eyes and saw no hints of malice or evil in them. Looking at each other and nodding, they decided to tell him about Naruto.

"He has just turned six a few days ago." Kotetsu answered.

"So his birthday is on October the tenth?"

"Yes, that is correct." Izumo answered this time.

"Interesting, born on the day the Kyubi is released from my daughter, and the day both Minato-kun and Kushina-chan died." Both chunin were now swearing bullets. This man, on the verge of finding out that Naruto is the current jinchuriki of the Kyubi, if the Hokage found out; their asses would be sent to Ibiki and Anko straight away. Izumo deciding to give false information to the man in hopes of him not finding out who Naruto was opened his mouth to speak. Kotetsu on the other hand decided to weigh the pros and cons of the situation. '_If the man was indeed of the Uzumaki clan and Naruto was a real Uzumaki, then little Naruto would finally have a friend. However, if this man isn't a real Uzumaki, then what do we do?' _Kotetsu looked up and saw his friend about to say something. He reached out his hand and grabbed Izumo's shoulder, stopping him from saying anything.

Izumo turned and looked at Kotetsu, a little surprised. Seeing Kotetsu mouth something to him, he turned and walked closer to Kotetsu to hear what he was saying.

"I think we should tell him." Kotetsu whispered.

"Are you out of your mind? We could die from this! Or worse, Naruto could get hurt!" Izumo whisper-yelled back. (I know we've all don't something like a half whisper half yelling before.)

"Yeah but think about it. If he's a real Uzumaki, then Naruto will have a chance at having a family. And even if he isn't, the Hokage would be able to stop him from hurting Naruto." Kotetsu argued his point. Izumo thought about it for a bit, and then agreed with his friend. They would tell this man who and what Naruto is.

Izumo turned around to address the man once again. "Sir, I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, but you look trustworthy enough. Naruto was born six years ago, on the night of the Kyubi attack. And his circumstances are a bit...unique. You see, he is what your daughter was when she was alive." Izumo calmly stated, though on the inside he was truly hoping that this man bore no ill will towards Naruto.

The look on the man's face said it all. Surprise, then shock, then happiness, then anger. "Thank you for this information. I must be going to see the Hokage now. And the man walked briskly towards the Hokage tower.

The two chunin looked at the man's retreating back. Izumo was still contemplating about the emotions he saw on the man's face. Then he turned a little, before stopping dead in his tracks. His eyes growing wide, and the look of shock on his face. Kotetsu, looked to his friend who seemed frozen.

"Dude. You okay there?" Izumo didn't reply for a few minutes. Kotetsu looked a little confused at what happened when Izumo finally replied.

"Kotetsu, think about it. Naruto was born on the same day the Kyubi attacked."

"So? We all know what happened that night."

"No no, not that. We only knew that Kushina-sama was a jinchuriki, and Kyubi somehow escaped."

"And? How does this relate to Naruto?" Kotetsu looked a bit perplexed.

"Think about it, the Kyubi could only escape if the seal got weaker. And what could cause a seal to get weaker?" Izumo prompted his friend. Kotetsu took up a thinking position, bringing out all his knowledge on sealing that he learned from what books he read on the subject. Though he never went in depth.

"Hrmm...A seal can get weaker when the life force of the host gets weaker. This can caused by a number of outside forces, such as battle. While the seal can also get weaker by another seal on it, or if some stress was placed on the seal. Do you think Kushina-sama fell in battle that night?" Kotetsu asked his friend.

"No, but you're close. Under what conditions does a _woman's_ life force get weaker?" Izumo prompted again. Kotetsu thought hard again.

"Hrm... the only reason I can think ...of...is...child...birth..." His eyes were now as wide as possible. "You don't think that Naruto is Kushina-sama's son do you?" Kotetsu asked in shock.

"He may very well be her son." Izumo answered back, still staring in the same direction.

Kotetsu blinked once. Twice. It didn't make sense to him.

"Wait, aren't Uzumaki's supposed to have red hair? There's no way Naruto can be Kushina-sama's son. He's BLONDE!" Kotetsu denied any connections between the deadly kunoichi and the playful child. Sure their personalities were very similar, well...exactly similar but that didn't mean they were related.

"While his hair may not be an Uzumaki red, but who do you know is the HUSBAND of Kushina-sama and also has BLONDE hair?" Izumo prodded Kotetsu again, this time giving huge hints as to who Naruto's father was. Kotetsu, still couldn't understand what Izumo was saying, and was wondering what Izumo has been staring at for the last few minutes. Following his gaze his eyes widened to epic proportions. He could only utter two words.

"Oh...shit..."

Izumo was the same.

"Yeah...shit..."

As both chunin stood there, staring at the Hokage Mountain. They couldn't believe what they just found out. They would later go to see the Hokage as soon as their shifts were over.

**_Meanwhile in the Hokage Tower_**

A man stormed up the stairs, though he didn't make a sound as he took each step. (Weird right? Storming without making a sound.) He didn't even notice or hear the secretary's protests as he barged into the Sandaime's office. Slamming the door in the face of the secretary he looked into the face of a surprised Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Hisashi! What brings you here?" Sarutobi asked the now identified Hisashi.

"Why didn't you tell me Kushina-chan had a son?" Hisashi asked Sarutobi.

Sarutobi's smile seemed to falter a bit. But he reinforced it as soon as he caught it slipping.

"My, what do you mean? I didn't know Kushina-san had a son?" The Sandaime lied. Though inside he was panicking. Quickly thinking up actions he could take to avoid the shit storm up ahead, but it was already too late.

"DON'T PLAY GAMES WITH ME SARUTOBI!" Hisashi exploded. "I know she had a son, with the name Naruto." This time he spoke softer.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. He couldn't escape this man's wrath, lest all of Konoha be destroyed.

"I'm sorry for keeping it from you, but I wanted Naruto to have a normal childhood here in Konoha." Sarutobi looked down, not meeting the eyes of the Uzumaki clan head.

"Did you really want him to have a good childhood or are you just following the wishes of your council so that can satisfy their thirst for power?" Hisashi retorted calmly, a little too calmly. Sarutobi raised a hand to hold his head.

"I-I...I really wanted him to have a good childhood. But the council wouldn't let me or anyone adopt him. They also wouldn't let him leave the village. They overruled me at every turn and decision regarding Naruto." Sarutobi looked down in shame. Hisashi seemed to be swelling with anger until he blew up.

"SHAPE UP! You're the Hokage! They're not supposed to trample all over you and get away with it!" Hisashi yelled. "Remind them WHY you're the damned 'Shinobi no Kami'! GROW A PAIR AND STOP TAKING ORDERS LIKE A PUSSY!"

Sarutobi looked at the man in a little shock. _'Did he just call me a pussy?'_ Feeling his pride wounded, he stood up in anger and glared hard at the man. "What. Did. You. Just. Call. Me?" he gritted through his teeth.

Hisashi only seemed to crack a wide grin. "I called you a pussy. Got a problem with that?" His grin not even fading at the amount of sakki (killing intent) directed at him.

Sarutobi seemed to remember who this man was. A feared man hailing from Uzushiogakure. He singlehandedly held back a coalition force of Kumo and Iwa shinobi during the Second Shinobi World War. Using his mastery over Fuinjutsu, he lured them into a trap letting the seals drain their chakra dry. Sarutobi seemed to reign in his anger for the time. Taking a deep breath he sat back down. Reaching into his coat and taking out a pipe and some tobacco, he prepared it and lit it. Breathing in deeply, he let the effects of nicotine calm his mind.

"ANBU!" Sarutobi called out. Four nin with masks depicting animals on them appeared before him. "Neko, Inu, being Naruto here. No detours. This is urgent. Tori, Tora, summon the council, we will convene in an hour. GO!" He ordered. The four ANBU bowed and took off in multiple blurs. A few minutes later, Neko and Inu came back with Naruto on the Inu ANBU member's back.

"We've brought him here Hokage-sama." Said the cat masked ANBU. Her voice clearly female.

"Good,dismissed." Sarutobi waved them off.

"Hai." And with a poof, they were gone.

"JIJI!" Naruto yelled out. He ran and tackled the Hokage into a hug.

"Hey Naruto-kun." Sarutobi smiled at his adoptive grandson.

"Hello, Naruto." A voice came from the side, Naruto turned to look up at the man in front of him. He looked to be in the thirties to him, but his hair said otherwise. Naruto tilted his head to one side and pointed at the man while looking at Sarutobi.

"Who's that old man, old man?" Sarutobi sighed at his lack of respect for the most powerful ninja in the village. Hisashi seemed to chuckle. After all, it wasn't everyday you see the God of Shinobi being talked down to by a six year old child.

"He," Sarutobi pointed at the man, "is your grandfather on your mother's side. He couldn't be here for you because of certain...situations not allowing you to be with him."

Naruto looked a bit sad that he had a grandfather all his life, but he didn't know who he was. But was kind of happy that he didn't willingly abandon him.

"Naruto," Hisashi said, Naruto looked at him. "I wan't to take you away from the village for ten years to be trained," Sarutobi looked like he was about to object, "_properly _trained." Hisashi emphasized. He already knew what a jinchuriki's life entailed, so he didn't need to say anymore to convice Sarutobi. While the sandaime himself looked away. Ashamed of his own village, knowing that they hated Naruto for what he carried, and many viewed him as the Kyubi itself.

"Really? You mean I get to become an awesome super cool ninja?" Hisashi and Sarutobi both chuckled this time.

"Yes, but the training will be very very hard. And remember, we won't be coming back until you're sixteen." Naruto looked a little down at this. Sarutobi smiled and pulle him into a hug.

"It's okay Naruto-kun. Go with your grandfather. This is a once in a lifetime deal to learn from possibly the strongest man apart from the Rikudo Sennin to live."

Naruto's eyes grew wide at this declaration. He couldn't believe that his grandfather was stronger than his...well...grandfather!

"Really? He's stronger than even you jiji?" Naruto asked the Hokage in shock and a little awe. Hisashi seemed to smile at Naruto's purity, knowing how most jinchuriki were treated. Sarutobi chuckled a little.

"Yes Naruto, hes THAT powerful. He held of an army by himself after all." If Naruto's eyes could get any wider, they would pop out of his head by now.

"He's THAT strong?" Hisashi chuckled, and answered for Hiruzen.

"I think the Hokage is exaggerating a bit. While I did hold off an army by myself, it was through my comrades who gave their lives in order to defend their home that allowed me to prepare. They bought me time while I drew a large scale seal that would trap the enemies and drain their chakra so I could defeat them." Hisashi said a bit solemnly at the end.

As soon as Naruto heard the words 'seal', 'trap', 'enemies', 'defeat them', he wanted to know what technique could be so powerful. "Ne, ne, what's a seal?" Naruto asked, genuinely interested. Sarutobi chuckled and thought to himself, _'Hehe, only an Uzumaki would be so intrigued by seals. Any other ninja would run away in fear because of the difficulty and the long time it takes to learn.' _

"Do you want to learn Naruto-kun?" Hisashi asked with a gentle smile across his face. When Naruto nodded vigorously his heart leaped with joy. Seeing such a young Uzumaki take interest in such art filled him with joy. "I'll teach you on our ten year training trip." Naruto leaped and yelled in joy. Sarutobi smiled happily for his adoptive grandson, his heart at ease now that someone would truly take care of him. Sarutobi stood up and put his pipe away after cleaning it out.

"Well then, let me just give you a few jutsu that might help you along the way, and then I'll let you pack and you can leave tomorrow morning. Is that fine with you Hisashi-san?" Hisashi nodded in confirmation. With that, Sarutobi set about to writing a few jutsu onto a blank scroll that he felt would benefit Naruto. Namely the Kage Bunshin, Kunai/Shuriken Kage Bunshin, Bunshin Daibakuha, and a few other nin/genjutsu. "I hope this will suffice for now." Sarutobi said, handing the scroll to Hisashi. Hisashi took the scroll and nodded. "I would give Naruto his inheritance, but if I know Minato, and I know him well, he already has that covered somehow."

Chuckling in understanding, "I agree, Minato was always a smart kid...*sighs* no point dwelling over the past." Hisashi bowed to Sarutobi before leaving the room.

"BYE JIJI! I'll be back for the academy exams! Dattebayo!" Naruto yelled out, waving his hands. Sarutobi waved back with a small smile on his face.

'_Come back quickly Naruto, it'll get too dull here without you around.'_ Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to sigh for the hundredth time that day. Putting on his Hokage hat, he stood up and stretched quickly. He had a council meeting to get to after all. It wouldn't do to be late. After all, the village doesn't need another Kakashi.

**_TBC_**

**Next time on True Uzumaki: NARUTO COMES BACK AFTER 10 YEARS! **

**Graduation test, Team 7 and bell test!**

**Who's the new kid?**

**How is he better than Sasuke?**

**So what u guys think? Please REVIEW! Appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow, this is amazing; I never thought that I would get so many views. Over 50 some faves, 40 some subs and like 11 reviews! You guys are awesome! Now, some of you have asked for a harem (and I don't mind letting Naruto have one, just not too big), so I will probably make a poll either after this chapter or next chapter deciding who the girls are. What I need from you guys is a list of female characters from the MAIN Naruto series, no movie/filler arcs etc. I will be taking the top 3, not including Anko. (4 Girls with Anko). Second, I MAY take a stab at writing lemons, but as of right now I know I'm not good enough. At this point, I need someone, preferably with some experience in writing lemons, to volunteer for this position. I would only ask this person to write two, maybe three lemons as an example so that I can get a feel for it and write my own. **

**NOTE: IF YOU WANT TO HELP ME WRITE LEMONS, I WILL MAKE CHANGES TO IT SO THAT IT WILL FIT THE STORY. I WILL GIVE CREDITS, BUT DO NOT BE SURPRISED IF WHAT YOU READ IS VASTLY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT YOU WROTE.**

**That's all for now, thank you!**

"Duh Herro." – normal talk

"**Can I talk to the sombodeeeee?" – Non-human talk**

"_My name is the Ranga-ha-tima-mago-yum-umdid-ram-geh" – Thought_

"**_It is spelled the Wworq Gui" – Non-human thought_**

"THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH! DYNAMIC ENTRY!" –Techniques/skills

"**THUNDERBOLT"**** – Non human techniques...yeah...**

"_This will be used loosely where it'll apply or where ever I feel like putting it"__– Misc._

"**_June 23_****_rd_****_ is maf birfday. Dun ferget that."_****_ – Date/Setting_**

~~~~~~~~~~DUH~~~~~~~~~~HELLO~~~~~~~~~~ break for scene/time . anything.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. The Naruto series belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo, and Veritas belongs to Yoon Joon-sik. Any other anime/manga/video game series that I may allude to or take elements from are owned by their respective creators/owners.**** Name used above and WWORQ GUI belongs to whoever owns Ownage Pranks.**

_**Chapter 2: Return to the Leaf and...Academy Test?**_

_**Konohagakure no Sato**_

_**Front Gates**_

It was a scorching hot day in Konoha, even though it wasn't summer yet, and Izumo and Kotetsu were, as always, on guard detail. They sat in the shade of the booth, avoiding the waves radiating from the sun. Yet, try as they might, avoiding the heat was another problem.

"Man, I'm bored." Izumo stated, fanning himself with his hands. Turning his head, he sweat dropped at the sight of his partner Kotetsu sleeping. "OI! Wake up! We're supposed to be on guard duty!" His friend, in his sleep, gave a snort as a reply. Izumo sighed. He decided to take some action. Standing up, walking to the other side of the booth, a savage grin came upon his face. Leaning over Kotetsu, he raised both his hands high in the air. Taking in a deep breath, he slammed both hands down on the table, one on each side of Kotetsu's head, while screaming at the top of his lungs. "WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

It suffices to say that Kotetsu was not amused; he was not sporting a bruise at the back of his head. Yet at the same time, Izumo was sporting a fractured nose. 'Why?' you might ask? Well, since Kotetsu was so startled, his head shot straight up...with Izumo leaning directly over his head, something bad was bound to happen. The back of Kotetsu's head impacted against Izumo's face. HARD.

"What the hell man! You couldn't let me sleep?" An irate Kotetsu yelled at his friend.

"We're supposed to be guarding the gate, not sleeping." Izumo answered coolly.

Kotetsu twitched. "IT'S NOT LIKE WE DO ANYTHING ANYWAYS!"

It was at this scene that a young man, looking about seventeen years old, walked through the gates completely ignoring the pair arguing. This young man was standing at 191cm. (Approx. 6'3). He wore a black cloak that went down to his ankles. The hood of the cloak covered any facial features, save the mouth. On the back of the cloak, a red swirl showed that the man was either an Uzumaki or from Uzushiogakure. Underneath the cloak, he wore the standard Uzushio uniform without any armour. (Cloak is Akatsuki cloak but with a hood and no clouds.) He seemed to float forwards like a ghost, not making a sound as he moved. Almost making through the gate, he stopped when he heard a voice call out from beside him.

"Hey! You need to show us your papers before you can go in!" Izumo shouted, running up to the mysterious man.

The man turned around to face the chunin. He reached into his cloak, and with a poof, a scroll signifying his identification came out. He handed the papers to the surprised chunin. _'Weird, I couldn't sense any chakra from that seal. Come to think of it, I can't sense this guy's chakra at all! It's like he's not even in front of me.'_ As Izumo took the papers, he tried to look at the man's face through the hood, but no matter how he looked he still couldn't see his eyes or face, just the man's mouth. Izumo looked down at the papers and started inspecting them. Kotetsu, finally getting off his lazy ass, walking op to Izumo to stand beside him, he yawned.

"Anything wrong?" Kotetsu asked his friend.

"Uh...everything seems to be fine...at least on paper." Izumo said as he closely scrutinized the scroll in front of him.

"Can I see that?" Kotetsu asked, though he was already taking the scroll out of Izumo's hands.

"Hmm...it says here that your name is Uzumaki...Naru...to..."Kotetsu blinked a few times, rereading the name over and over. It seemed very familiar to him for some reason. Izumo on the other hand looked very surprised. He stared at this...giant in front of him, not believing this man in front of him was the kid that left Konoha ten years ago. After all, the kid loved to prank others and was very outspoken. This man in front of him was reserved. He carried an air about him like a Hyuga, like a noble, but with without the arrogance that usually came with the title. Just then, Kotetsu's mind clicked, he had remembered who Naruto was, and came the intelligent reply. "WHUUUUUUUUT?" His mouth hung slightly open, eyes wide. He looked up from the scroll to Naruto, then back at the scroll, and back at Naruto. This happened a few times until he fainted on the spot.

Naruto chuckled a little. "Yo Izumo-san. How are ya!" His voice although deeper, was still cheery.

"Uh...hi Naruto-kun. You've...you've grown so TALL!" Izumo literally had to tilt his head up to look Naruto in the eyes...or where his eyes should be.

"Hehe, yeah. Hey, I need to go talk to Hokage-jiji. Think I can get my ID back?"

"Yeah sure, here you go." Izumo handed Naruto the scroll, who rolled it up and sealed it back into...his cloak somewhere.

Walking off, Naruto picked up his speed when he was a good distance away. Izumo stood there in shock, the full weight of the situation had not sunk in yet. His friend Kotetsu however...fell asleep on the ground. He would not wake up until much, MUCH later. He would later find out that he was left laying there on the ground for close to six hours.

_**Hokage Tower**_

Naruto walked up the stairs to the office, the secretary below waved him in, knowing that the Hokage was probably slacking off and reading that orange book of his. As Naruto came upon the doors to the office, he heard giggling inside. _'What is that?'_ He leaned into the door and heard more giggling. "Oh Misako, you naughty naughty girl." Naruto twitched. He knocked on the door very loudly, hoping that the Hokage would at least put his book away before letting him enter. This time he heard a fumbling of papers, what sounded like many objects falling onto the ground, then he heard a loud thump and curses soon followed afterwards. Naruto sweat dropped, wondering what was going on until he heard the clearing of a throat. "Come in."

Opening the doors, Naruto silently shuffled into the room. Closing the door behind him, he turned to face the aged kage.

"How may I help you young man?" the Kage asked.

"Well, you can start off by giving me a hug after ten years. Or have you forgotten who I am already?" Naruto fake sniffled a little at the end.

"Uh...I don't believe we have met." Sarutobi eyed the man in front of him suspiciously.

"You really forgot me old man? HOW COULD YOU!" Naruto crossed his arms across his chest, a pout on his face. Even though the Hokage knew the man in front of him was just joking around, it wouldn't do for a Kage to be disrespected.

"You know you are talking to the Hokage right? You should show some respect." Sarutobi said sternly, yet in a somewhat kind tone.

"Sighs, you really are getting old, old man. It's me, Naruto." And with that, Naruto pulled the hood down from his head. A mane of blonde hair flopped out. His face unmarred by the whisker marks that used to be there. If one saw him right now, they would think that the Fourth came back to life.

Sarutobi just sat there, gaping like a fish. "Wh-wha-wha-wha-WHUUUUUT?" And he fainted.

"OH COME ON! NOT AGAIN!" Naruto wanted to pull his hair out in frustration.

_**15 Minutes Later**_

_**One Fully Resuscitated Hokage Later**_

"It's been a while Naruto-kun. You've grown so tall." Sarutobi smiled and looked proudly at his adoptive grandson.

"Yeah, ten years, I learned everything I could possibly learn from Hisashi-jiji. He even told me that my training was finished three years ago and that I should travel the shinobi nations to learn the other skills that shinobi need to know. Mainly gen-tai- and kenjutsu. I can create my own ninjutsu given enough time, so you won't have to worry about that. Kage bunshins are great like that. And so I travelled the nations for three years. I found two most peculiar styles of taijutsu, and I've learned kenjutsu from a few ex-swordsmen of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist." Sarutobi's eyes widened at that point. He had heard about the rebellion in Kirigakure, and he also knew of the history of the Seven Swordsmen. To be able to be taught in kenjutsu by the best, how strong had Naruto become?

"So anyways, the last few months, I just wandered around the nations with nothing to do. That is, until I came into contact with the Kyubi for the first time." Sarutobi had a little sliver of fear and doubt in his heart now. That night ten years ago, he had straightened out the council. He also told them of Naruto's full heritage. Needless to say, that caused a huge fuss over what would happen to Naruto. Sarutobi had told them that Naruto was going on a ten year training trip with his biological grandfather. He then told them that the matter would be continued when Naruto came back and forbade them from telling anyone about Naruto's heritage until he was ready. But now that Naruto had met the Kyubi personally, would he hate the village?

"I hate this village." Sarutobi's world came crashing down. But before he could breakdown and cry, Naruto kept talking. "It's too hot during the summers and too cold during the winters! The weather is just too troublesome." Sarutobi's mindhad just registered what happened.

"Eh?" was his intelligent reply.

"At least in Uzushio, the temperatures were moderate, because we were surrounded by the sea. Here? You've got nothing in terms of temperature control." Naruto stated. Sarutobi let go a sigh of relief. For a second he thought Naruto would try to destroy this village. Shaking himself out of his stupor, he asked a question this time.

"So Naruto, could you tell me more on what happened when you met the Kyubi?"

"Yeah I would, but isn't today graduation day? Can you just let me go and get the tests over with?" Naruto pleaded with his old man.

Sarutobi sighed again. "Fine, however, after the tests you come straight to me to tell me about what happened. Deal?" Sarutobi proposed.

"Deal." Naruto answered happily. Quickly taking out a small slip of paper and scribbling on it, he handed it to Naruto. Naruto, who took the note and read it, looked at the Hokage as if he was five. "Uh... no offence, but your handwriting sucks."

Sarutobi twitched. That was a blow to his pride. Over seventy years old, and here he was being lectured by a teen about his handwriting. "JUST GO!" He yelled.

"Okay, okay. Sheesh. No need to get your panties in a bunch." Naruto jumped out the window and headed towards the academy. Where ever that was.

Sarutobi sighed again. Then he noticed something. _'Why couldn't I sense his chakra at all?'_

_**30 Minutes Later**_

Naruto had already circled the village three times, yet he still couldn't find the academy. "ARGH! WHERE THE HELL IS IT?" He yelled to the sky.

"Where is what?" a girl giggled.

Naruto looked at the girl in front of him. Blinked a few times. Then flushed in embarrassment.

"Hehe, I'm looking for the ninja academy, do you know where it is?"

"Silly, you're right in front of it!" The girl pointed behind him. Naruto turned around and saw a huge building with the words "ACADEMY" in big bold letters above the gate. He slapped his forehead. _'HOW COULD I MISS SUCH AN OBVIOUS SIGN?'_

"Thank you miss." Naruto bowed to the girl

"No problem." She said before she went her own way.

Naruto turned back around and walked through the gates.

_**Inside the Academy**_

Naruto walked down the halls. _'206, 206, 206, where are you? Let's see... 315? How the hell did I get on the third floor?'_ Naruto then quickly found a staircase and went down a floor. _'Ah, let's see... 206...THATAWAY!'_ Naruto quickly ran off down the halls.

_**Classroom**_

The chattering of the classroom was overpowering the voice of Iruka.

"**SHUT UP"** Iruka yelled at the class. (Yes, it is classified as demonic speech when Iruka yells at his class to shut up.) The whole class quieted down, visibly cowed by the overpowering sakki (Killing Energy/Intent) leaking from Iruka. Iruka sighed, then took a deep breath, about to speak when 'KNOCK KNOCK' he was cut off by someone knocking on the door. He sighed again, walking up to the door and opening it, he was surprised to see a teen the same age as his class hand him a note. He took the note and read it over two times to make sure that he was reading it correctly. He sighed again, _'Why did I have to take this job?'_ he asked himself.

Turning to the class Iruka addressed them, "Students, we have a new student here to take the genin tests with you all. He was recommended by the Hokage himself. He has been trained by his clan for ten years outside the village. Please show respect to him." As Iruka finished, he ushered Naruto in.

Now standing at the front of the class, Naruto pulled his hood down. This action caused to things, some girls to gasp at how handsome he looked, and the instant formation of a fanclub. Bowing, Naruto introduced himself, "Good morning everyone, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you all." As he finished, a silence fell over the class. If one could listen closely enough, they would be able to hear a soft 'troublesome' muttered by a certain Nara.

Sasuke, deciding to make himself known as the superior, voiced his opinions. "Dobe, what kind of loser clan did you come from?" Naruto merely raised an eyebrow at his rudeness.

"Have you not heard of the Uzumaki clan?" Naruto asked, wondering if they were teaching the proper history to the students.

"What kind of no-name clan is that?" Sasuke asked again. His fangirls thought he was really cool for some reason.

Naruto merely chuckled. "The Uzumaki clan was a feared clan amongst all the shinobi nations."

"Then why haven't I heard of them?" The Uchiha thought he had Naruto trapped now. Yet Naruto didn't seem fazed at all. A 'troublesome' was heard again. Naruto decided to call out the Nara this time.

"Hey you! The Nara that keeps saying troublesome!" Naruto called out.

Shikamaru looked at Naruto and raised an eyebrow as if answering 'yes?'

"You seem to have heard of the Uzumaki clan; care to explain to your ignorant classmates?" Naruto jabbed at everyone who had looks of confusion.

Shikamaru sighed, "The Uzumaki clan was a clan feared by all before and especially after the First Shinobi World War. So much in fact that in the Second Shinobi World War, Iwa, Ame, and Suna decided than rather attack Konoha, they would first launch an allied strike against Uzushiogakure, the hidden village founded by the Uzumaki Clan. That would eventually spell its demise, but even now, those who remember what happened in the Second War, and those who know enough about history know not to mess with an Uzumaki in any matter."

Sasuke looked furious at the fact that this no-name clan had outshone the Uchiha name throughout history. But then he noticed Shikamaru didn't say anything about their abilities. Smirking, he decided he would find a weakness by the end of today. "Oh? And what did they specialize in? Ninjutsu like the Uchiha? Taijutsu like the Hyuga? Maybe Genjutsu? Or even Kenjutsu? We all know that Gen-tai-and kenjutsu are inferior in many ways to ninjutsu." Sasuke smirked thinking he had won.

"While that may be true, the Uzumaki clan didn't specialize in any of those paths. They specialized in the art of Fuinjutsu." Shikamaru drawled out. Sasuke's smirk seemed to grow even wider.

"Fuinjutsu? What can they do with that? Seal their enemies away?" Sasuke and his followers laughed.

Naruto just stood there, eyebrow still raised, looking on in an amused fashion. He decided to cut in.

"While sealing scrolls may come in handy, that's not all seals can do." Naruto informed the class.

"Oh? And what else can seals do?" Sasuke taunted.

"Oh, many things. In fact, if I wanted, I could make a seal right now that can suck the soul out of your body and store it into a seal for further usage." Naruto said in an all too cheery tone which creeped out the other students. Sasuke turned pale white. Iruka, deciding it was enough started the test.

"Okay, that's enough. Pick a seat Naruto-san, we'll be starting the test now." Iruka said.

The written test was not too hard. A little bit on history, and a lot on the sciences. Chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, and some situational problems that they may run into as ninja were tested upon. After the test was over, Iruka set about collecting the tests, while Mizuki went out to test the students on thrown weapons accuracy. As Iruka picked up Naruto's test, he was shocked that he got all answers correct. He also absently noted that Naruto's handwriting was very beautiful. Likely from years of writing seals.

While outside, Mizuki called the genin up one by one to throw their kunai and shuriken.

"Hyuga Hinata, please step up." The timid girl went up and took out ten kunai. She threw them one at a time, seven of which hit dead centre; others were off by a few inches.

"Seven out of ten, not bad. Next, Shikamaru Nara."

The lazy boy got up, threw his kunai and got six out of ten.

"Akimichi, Chouji." Mizuki called out.

The plump boy got up and walked to the throwing line. Taking out his kunai, he threw them. Also a seven out of ten.

"Next, Yamanaka Ino."

Ino got up from Sasuke's left side, and threw her kunai. Five out of ten hit dead centre.

"Inuzuka Kiba."

The dog boy stood up. He was energized as ever and ran to the throwing line. He took out ten kunai and threw them all at once. Four of them hit dead centre. Six of the ten touched the target. Mizuki sighed. And this continued for a long time until.

"Haruno Sakura."

The pink haired girl got up; her frail legs seemed to barely support her weight. As she took out her kunais Ino was on the sidelines calling her names. She then got into position and threw them one by one, and got the same score Ino did. Five out of ten. Naruto sighed. _'Disgrace to ninja everywhere and especially to kunoichi.'_ He thought as he shook his head.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Mizuki called out. Sasuke's fangirls squealed. Sasuke himself got up with an air of supreme confidence and arrogance.

"Just watch how an Uchiha does things dobe." Sasuke stated. Naruto only looked on in disinterest. Taking out ten kunais, Sasuke launched them all at once and they all hit dead centre. Sasuke 'hmph-ed' as he walked past Naruto.

"And finally, Uzumaki Naruto." Mizuki said with a little too much malice in his voice. Naruto noticed this and decided to be wary around him. As Naruto took out ten kunai, he coiled his muscles and got ready to throw. He released all ten at once and they all hit dead centre. A perfect score, Naruto smirked.

"Looks like I tied with you Uchiha-san." Naruto stated. Sasuke was livid, how could someone come in and just steal his thunder like that?

After the tests were over, and scores were recorded, the students and Mizuki went to a training field with Iruka standing there waiting for them.

"Okay students, this is the taijutsu portion of the exam. We will be pitting you against each other. We will assess you on how you fight and your tactics during fighting. Winning and losing are only bonuses understood?" Iruka explained.

"Hai" everyone chorused.

"Okay then, first off..."

After many uninteresting fights, it came down to the last two, Naruto and Sasuke.

"Last round, Uzumaki Naruto vs. Uchiha Sasuke." Iruka called out.

The two walked into the ring drawn on the ground.

"Same rules, no jutsu or chakra. Pure taijutsu, got it?"

"Understood" replied Naruto.

"Just get on with it" came from Sasuke.

Iruka could only shake his head. "BEGIN!"

As soon as that word was said, Naruto dropped into a very loose stance. It seemed to be full of openings, so Sasuke charged him. As he went in for the punch, Naruto leaned in, put his hands infront of Naruto's chest, made a grabbing motion and leaned back, pulling his hands back into his chest as if he was pulling Sasuke to the ground. Sasuke got confused by the motion and tripped over himself and fell. Naruto only chuckled.

"Too much for you Sasuke-chan?" Naruto taunted. Sasuke's anger flared.

"RAAAWR!" came a battle cry from Sasuke. He charged with a kunai in his hand. As he made a stabbing motion, Naruto stepped out of the way, grabbed his wrist and knocked the knife out with his other hand. He then proceeded to bend the arm in weird angles, causing Sasuke to twist and turn until he was on the ground with Naruto's heel hovering above his head.

"Sensei, if I stomp right now, his skull will be crushed and he will die. Please call the winner." Naruto calmly said to Iruka.

"R-right. Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!"

The other students stared at Naruto in awe. He just defeated the great Uchiha in single combat! Of course, the fangirls were calling for his blood, saying he cheated. As the class shuffled back into the classroom for the last portion of the exams, Sasuke lay there wondering how the blonde got so strong and how he would gain that power so he can kill his brother.

_**In the Classroom**_

"Okay class, now we will commence the ninjutsu portion of the exams. Please get back into your seats while I call you up one by one to be tested." Iruka said. The students all sat back down, chatting with their friends. Naruto sat down beside Shikamaru, who started to drift off to sleep. Naruto sighed at the Nara's antics.

"Hey, my name's Naruto, what's yours?" Naruto introduced.

Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome. Shikamaru." There was a pregnant pause. "So, that seal that you said that can suck souls out. Is it real?" Shikamaru asked, interested.

Naruto only smirked, "Not as of yet, but I have an idea on it already. Rather than just sealing your soul, I could just seal your whole body, or I could create a seal that separates your chakra from your body, and seal your chakra away, effectively drawing your soul out with you." Shikamaru's eyes twitched. Though he didn't fully understand seals, he knew they were powerful, just not this powerful.

"Troublesome." Naruto only chuckled.

As each student got called up one by one, many came out with their headbands and a few had come out crying. Naruto just sat in his seat, looking out the window, enjoying the sun. He was about to fall asleep when he heard his name called.

"Uzumaki Naruto, come in for your test." Mizuki grit his teeth, directing his hate and sakki at Naruto. Naruto just shrugged it off and kept walking. As he entered the room, he saw Iruka behind a desk with a stack of papers beside him. Mizuki sat off to the side.

"Okay Naruto, would you please do a Henge for us please?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. _'The academy grades on such low level jutsu?'_ Shrugging, he performed the hand seals and poof.

"Henge no Jutsu." Naruto said, barely above a whisper. He transformed his look into the Sandaime. Iruka looked impressed, there didn't seem to be anything off about his henge. Mizuki looked a little angry.

"Next, please perform the Kawarimi please." Iruka said as he finished up grading his Henge and looked up.

With the next few hand seals, another poof, and in his place was Mizuki's pants. Iruka looked over to his left, and sure enough, Mizuki was pantless and Naruto was standing behind him. Mizuki tried his best to cover up his red polka dot on white boxers. He scowled at Naruto, ran over to get his pants, and put them back on. Now Iruka was really impressed, but at the same time amused. Impressed at the fact that he could take of Mizuki's pants without the victim noticing, and amused that the rumours regarding that he was a master prankster came true.

With a sigh, Iruka continued the test, "Lastly, would you please perform the Bunshin please?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. _'A normal bunshin?'_ deciding to voice his thoughts.

"A normal bunshin?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Yes, without it you can't graduate." Iruka informed him.

"Why doesn't the academy teach something more useful? Like Mizu Bunshin?" Naruto asked. Iruka could only sigh.

"Because the students may not have enough chakra." Iruka replied. Naruto shrugged.

Performing the hand seals, two perfect Bunshins appeared beside him. Iruka inspected both bunshins and poked them. His hand went right through. Nodding, Iruka wrote down the marks on his paper. He took a black headband and handed it to Naruto.

"Congratulations Genin Uzumaki." Iruka smiled. Naruto reached out with both his hands and accepted the headband with a bow.

"Thank you Iruka-sensei." Naruto tied the headband over his forehead, lifting the blonde tufts of hair that covered his face. With a grin Naruto walked out behind Iruka, with Mizuki scowling at Naruto behind his back.

"Congratulations to those that passed, and for those that didn't, there's always next year. Now, please come back on Monday to find out who your teammates are and who your sensei is. Dismissed." With that ,Iruka walked out the classroom with an angry Mizuki in tow. Naruto got up from his seat and walked away. _'Gotta get some ramen, then talk to the old man about my trip.'_

**A/N: I know, this chapter may be very boring, just gotta get a few things over with first before we just jump right into the action. Working on the third chapter now. So please, give me some ideas for girls in the harem. Then I will have a poll on who to take. Remember, only those from story arcs, no fillers or movie girls. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I know I did while writing it! Later! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the super late update had a 2000 word research paper due...well, it's technically still due but I had to finish up the draft. Anyways, thanks for all the reviews! I know I said I would put up a poll (at least I THINK I did...), but I've decided NOT to and just decide on who would be in Naruto's small three girl Harem **

**I said four originally, but then I decided against it and just went for two. Who the hell needs that many wives to restart a clan anyways? The two WILL be Anko (as I said Anko for sure), and Mei Terumii (would be interesting with Mei and Anko fighting over Naruto, that and she's a redhead, something about redheads in Naruto...). **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.**

_**Chapter 3:Ten Years Revealed!**_

Walking through the streets of Konoha, Naruto took in his surroundings and compared them to what he remembered from a decade ago. Many new buildings and shops were built on top of the land of where old ones lay. Glancing around, he noticed that many of the civilian population were staring at him. His hooded face apparently scared many of the civilians away. Smirking, he picked up his pace towards the Hokage tower.

_**Hokage Tower**_

_**Office**_

Gently rapping at the door three times before walking in, he was greeted by the sight of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the _Shinobi no Kami_, the most feared shinobi during the Third Ninja War, giggling and completely off guard. On his desk was a modified crystal ball, with help from Jiraiya, the crystal ball was connected to a hidden camera in the women's side of the hot springs. Naruto twitched at the sight of the Hokage peeping, deciding to make his presence known, he cleared his throat.

"Ahem"

"Huh?" Sarutobi quickly looked up, then looked back down, going into shock for a second before frantically opening his desk drawer and almost throwing the crystal ball in, slamming it shut. "Sorry about that, how can I help you Naruto-kun?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Other than stop being a pervert and peeping on naked chicks?" Sarutobi looked sheepish. Naruto shook his head and sighed, "Well, you told me to come here after the exams, so here I am."

Sarutobi nodded, "Well, let's start from the beginning, what did you learn with Hisashi-sama?"

"For seven years I trained with him...well not trained, more like learned the art of sealing from him. Pretty much from theory, to learning how to draw seals correctly, and then applying what I knew. After the fifth year, I had learned what I could, the last two years was more of a research period for seals I had in my head and learning how to incorporate seals into fighting." Naruto explained.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at the last one, as if sensing his confusion, Naruto explained further.

"Sometimes in a battle, you may either run out of seals that you prepared, or you simply didn't prepare the needed seal, so you would then make the seal on the spot, and while it will leave you open if you stay in one place and draw, your drawing speed makes all the difference. That and the fact that I also had to learn how to draw seals while engaging enemies." Sarutobi nodded in understanding, it seemed logical that a clan based on Fuinjutsu would be able to develop a style of drawing seals on the fly.

"Great, now I need to know something else." Sarutobi paused, Naruto gestured with his hand for him to continue. "Two things actually, first, that you said you can create a seal that can suck the soul out of someone? What are the repercussions of using such a seal?"

Naruto smiled a little, "Well that seal has no repercussions like the dead demon consuming seal, meaning no lives sacrificed. Although it sounds great and all, it requires contact between the target and the user. If the contact is broken, only a part of their chakra is sealed away, not the soul. The premise of the seal is that you need chakra to live, so therefore your chakra is also somehow attached to your soul, as seen with the dead demon consuming seal and how my father sealed Kyubi. How this seal works is that it completely drains all chakra from the target and in turn their soul would follow. However, a major flaw is that you are completely open while drawing the chakra from the target, having to constantly be in contact with the person. The only practical use would be to interrogate those that won't talk, by taking their souls into my own body and sifting through all the information it contains, then destroying what you don't need. Even the Yamanaka mind jutsus are more efficient than this, so it has no practical use, though it makes a great deterrent and fear factor."

Sarutobi sighed in both relief and disappointment. He didn't want a technique like this uncontrolled, yet at the same time, it was similar to the dead demon consuming seal, but did not require any lives. Well, lives on the user's side. "My second question is from what I observed through my crystal ball during your examinations. With the Kyubi inside you, your large chakra should be incredibly hard to control, how is it that you can use techniques that require a small percentile of your chakra? Even with perfect control, if a person has large reserves like you, the chakra charged into the Bunshin would make it unstable, and therefore fail." Sarutobi looked expectantly at Naruto, hoping to find out what he did.

Naruto only chuckled, "That, jiji, is the result of one of my best and favourite seal; it's also my little secret." Sarutobi deflated a little, but wondered what kind of seal would be able to do such a thing. "Haha, don't look too down, I'll tell you since you're the Hokage." Sarutobi perked up at this. "Firstly, the seal is a by product of many other experiments that I undertook. First was somewhat of a chakra...stabilization seal, if you will. When a person performs a jutsu, they gather the chakra at the needed tenketsus and push out, thus forcing the chakra out. However, by flashing your chakra like this, it's just not great for stealth, of course the other way would be to just not use any jutsu, but in case you're on a stealth mission, and you needed to use jutsu but you didn't want any of the explosive energy being broadcasted, this seal would take a portion of your chakra, and supplies a constant stream for the jutsu needed. When the technique performed is somewhat explosive, say a Grand Fireball, it would take the chakra as needed and convert it into fire, leaving no chakra residue in the air or any of it being broadcasted. The second seal was from examples taken from ROOT operatives in Konoha. By just talking about ROOT, the seal would activate and the ninja would be incapacitated. So I set out my research to find a seal that can link to your mind. After many months of theory, and a birthday present from dear old dad, I had found a way to give mental commands to my body indirectly through the seal."

Sarutobi decided to interrupt, "Wait, that present from your dad, what did it say?"

"I'll tell you later. Moving on, I have personally assigned units to chakra. By defining what one 'unit' of chakra can do, I can assign the relative units of chakra needed for a technique. By using these units with my mind seal, combined with a modified version of the stabilization seal, I am able to have, quite literally, perfect chakra control."

Sarutobi's jaws dropped. _'True perfect chakra control? IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES!'_ "Uh...wow."

Naruto smiled, "Yep...that's that, so you wanna know what I got from my father?" Sarutobi nodded. "Okay, it's a scroll of theories developed by him from observing Jiraiya in Sage Mode. He theorized that the chakra obtained from nature is much purer than the chakra that humans produce, and because of this purer substance, it greatly enhances speed and strength because during sage mode, chakra usage never stops, therefore it keeps enhancing all those qualities until all of it is used up. At the time, I didn't have Jiraiya in front of me, nor did I have the opportunity to undergo sage training, so I had to make do. The answer came to me during my travels, specifically to the Fire Temple. Their monks there meditated every day, and although they didn't know it, they were unconsciously purifying their chakra, allowing them to use their special chakra. After some experimenting, I found that purifying chakra could be obtained through the help of a certain breathing technique that circulates the chakra through your system while taking the waste out through the respiratory system as CO2. After much practice with this technique, I can confidently say that my chakra is pure, as in 100% pure."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, sceptical of the outcomes of purified chakra versus a mass amount of chakra. While quality does usually triumph over quantity, the more chakra you push into a jutsu like the Grand Fireball, the more powerful it would be wouldn't it? "Forgive me if I'm doubtful, but wouldn't say, ten times the amount of unpure chakra used overpower the refined chakra?"

"See, that's where you're wrong, the average shinobi's chakra is approximately 40% pure with Kages and higher level jounins with 55-65%, sages like Jiraiya would be around 70% pure chakra, with the rest being rubbish. Also, take into account that nature chakra isn't 100% pure; it is only about 80%. Jiraiya, a sage, with nature chakra, has an average purity of around 75%. That 5% increase in chakra concentration allow for massive increase in strength and speed. The actual power of a technique is the energy used multiplied by the percentage squared."

Sarutobi did the math in his head, and his eyes widened. The energy output would be massive, especially considering the amount of chakra Naruto has. Naruto looked at Sarutobi, letting the information sink in.

"That's unbelievable." Sarutobi said, finally breaking out of his trance.

"I know, but it's all real." Naruto calmly answered.

Sarutobi sighed, deciding to carry on with the meeting. "So can you tell me what you learned on your travels?"

Naruto nodded. Getting into a comfortable position on the couch, he began to tell him of what happened.

_~~~~~~~~~~Flashback 3 Years Ago~~~~~~~~~~~~_

_Whistling a little tune as he walked, Naruto raised an eyebrow at the well hidden presences in the forest off the side of the road. Shrugging, he kept walking down the road until something exploded out of the bushes and onto the road. As the figure got onto the road, he stopped moving immediately, as if frozen on the spot. A second after this happened, two more figures jumped on the road but got frozen as well, Naruto smirked._

"_Well, what do we have here?" Naruto said as he walked towards the three figures stuck in a pose like a figurine. Looking the three people over, Naruto's grin got even wider. "So we have two ex-swordsmen of the mist," Naruto said taking notice of their headband, "and one defective hunter nin?" Naruto looked a bit puzzled at the hunter nin._

_Growling came from the blue skinned shinobi known as Kisame. "Hoshigaki Kisame, one of the seven swordsmen of the mist, how are you today?"_

"_LET ME GO GAKI!" Kisame yelled at Naruto._

_The other nuke nin sighed. "Baka, he in a position to end our lives, don't you think you should treat him a bit better?" Turning towards Naruto, Zabuza asked another question, "Oi, what did you do to us? Why can't we move?"_

_Naruto smiled, "The reason you can't move is because of a few seals I applied in this area."_

"_What do you mean? We didn't see you apply any seals!" Kisame yelled._

"_Correct, you didn't see me apply any seals!" the three figures looked at Naruto as if he was stupid, "And that's why I win! I'm Bi-WINNING! (sorry, had to do that.)" If the three nin could face-fault, they would have._

_The hunter nin turned his head slightly towards Zabuza, "I think he's crazy" he whispered._

"_...yeah, I agree completely." Zabuza nodded._

_Naruto noticed the two talking and Kisame squirming, trying to get free. Coming up with a plan, he smirked._

"_This is perfect!" Naruto yelled, making the three look at him with raised eyebrows. "I have a plan; do you want to hear it?" Naruto asked them with a big grin on his face. Zabuza was a bit cautious._

"_What if we don't want to hear it?" he eyed Naruto._

"_Then I kill you right here right now!" Naruto answered all too happily._

"_I think we'll listen to your plan." Kisame decided for the group, opting for the route with a higher chance of survivability._

"_GREAT!" Naruto jumped in joy, "Here's my plan, you two" he said pointing to Zabuza and Kisame, "Will teach me everything you know about Kenjutsu and I learn!"_

_Zabuza and Kisame looked at each other._

"_What do we get out of this?" Zabuza asked._

"_You get to live a while longer, and maybe I won't kill you when my training is over!" Naruto said still too happily. This made the two nin really sweat._

"_Uh..." Kisame looked to Zabuza for help. Zabuza only shook his head. Kisame sighed, "We'll help you brat."_

"_Great!"_

_~~~~~~~~~Flashback END~~~~~~~~~~_

"And I trained with them for about two years or so." Naruto said as he finished his story.

Sarutobi blinked a few times, "You threatened two of the more powerful swordsmen and lived?" Naruto nodded. Sarutobi then sighed. "I'm getting too old for this...anyways, anything else other than meeting the Kyuubi that I need to know about?"

Naruto thought for a second, "Not really, no. The meeting with the Kyuubi was pretty uneventful, only thing I learned was that the Kyuubi in both attacks against Konoha was forced to, under the control of an Uchiha, more specifically Madara if my assumptions are correct."

Sarutobi paled at this information, going into a semi- shocked state. He sighed, a bit depressed knowing that Konoha and the rest of the shinobi nations would be in conflict again sometime in the future.

"That's all for today Naruto, thank you."

"No problem jiji!" Naruto grinned, Sarutobi groaned.

"Anyways, while you were at the academy, I have arranged a small house for you to live in." Sarutobi informed him while opening the top drawer to his desk. Grabbing the keys, he tossed it to Naruto. Snatching the keys out of the air, Naruto grinned.

"Thanks old man! Oh! And if you're ever looking for me, you would have better luck finding me in the Forest of Death than my home, so try the forest before my home alright? Later!" Naruto said.

Sarutobi shook his head in amusement, taking his pipe and lighting it, "Just like his personality, always looking for a thrill, someday the animals will get you Naruto just watch out...that and Ank-" Sarutobi's eyes widened, pipe falling out of his hand. He had forgotten about Anko and her favourite place of dwelling. Contemplating about whether to warn Naruto about or not, he shrugged, picking up his pipe and lighting it again. He would be okay...right?

_**Forest of Death**_

After dropping his things off at home, Naruto decided to take a stroll and maybe a nap in the forest. Walking up to the large gates, he saw the many signs that read 'danger', and 'forbidden' all over the fence surrounding the forest. A Cheshire grin came upon his face, "This is my kind of forest." He sated as he jumped over the gate and landed on the other side. Walking deeper into the forest, he noticed a presence watching him but paid no mind to it, most likely a large animal that this forest is famous for.

**TBC**

**What do you guys think? Please R&R! And sorry for the shorter chapter, but needed to get the intro of the story over with...the next few chapters is where the action will start. **


	4. Chapter 4

**SORRY FOR LATE POST! Writer's block sucks T_T Anyways, here it is, sorry if it's lower quality, because I made this over a span of two weeks...I know...slow. Anyways, I'll try and update regularly, either weekly or bi-weekly.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other shows/series etc that I may allude to or use. Any ideas that coincide with another author's ideas are just that. Coincidences.**

**Bell Test and New Team!**

_**Forest of Death**_

As many people know, walking through the forest can be a very soothing process. However, what about walking through a forest full of oversized carnivorous beasts, ready to devour anything in their sights? Not so pleasant. But that's not so for one Uzumaki Naruto, now walking through one of the deadliest natural forests in all the shinobi nations. What was weird was the fact that Naruto could walk past such beasts, right in front of their eyes, and not be attacked at all. It was as if the beasts could not see him. Which was true in a way.

Walking into a clearing, Naruto looked around. Finding a tree that looked comfortable enough, he jumped up to the tree and lay down, preparing to take a nap. That is, until a kunai, sailing through the air, interrupted his nap time. Raising his hand and hooking his middle finger into the ring, he flung it back in the direction it came. Slowly getting up, Naruto pulled out a blank mask and put it on.

"I guess the presence I felt when coming into the forest was you wasn't it? I must commend you at keeping your intentions hidden. Had I not went against my senses you would be, for all intents and purposes, dead." A silence filled the air. Naruto stood there, waiting for a few minutes. Suddenly whipping his body around, his hand shot up and blocked a strike from his assailant. Grabbing the arm, he twisted the elbow up while holding the wrist down, causing the arm to twist in an unnatural position, holding the rest of the body down keeping it immobile. The attacker growled, for being subdued so easily. Naruto closely inspected his assailant. Purple hair tied into a knot at the end, sticking up, trench coat, mesh shirt and leggings, orange miniskirt. Noticing the Konoha headband, he let go. Growling, the kunoichi jumped back a few metres away from Naruto.

"Good evening." Naruto said, taking a bow.

The kunoichi (Anko if you guys don't already know.), taking notice of his deep voice, trying to match it to any people she knew. It didn't. "Who are you?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow behind his mask. His black cloak covered everything except his white mask. The shadows of the trees seemed to envelop him, the darkness covering his very being. It seemed as if the kunoichi was talking to a floating mask.

"Who? Who is but the form following the function of what, and what I am is a man in a mask." Naruto answered, deciding to play with his assailant.

"I can see that." She was getting impatient.

"I know you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation, I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is." Naruto answered back.

The kunoichi only sweat dropped.

"Anyways, I...am...THE KYUUBI NO YOKO!" And he started cackling madly.

She started twitching until she finally blew up and charged at Naruto again. Laughing, Naruto expertly dodged and weaved around her strikes, not attempting retaliate at all. After almost half a day of dodging the kunoichi's strikes, she finally stopped to catch her breath. Her sweat glistening in the moonlight, Naruto took in her appearance and was entranced. _'Not bad. Though the clothes don't leave much to imagination...'_ Shaking his head clear of his thoughts, which were obviously going down the wrong path, he focused on the kunoichi.

"Are you done yet? Maybe we could properly introduce ourselves now?" Naruto politely asked her.

"Grr, take off that mask!" she yelled at him.

Thinking it over, "oh alright." Raising his hand to his face, he grasped his mask. In one swift motion, he took it off...only to reveal another mask underneath. (XD Love masks and the wonders of them).

Screaming in frustration, Anko (I will refer to her as this from now on.) shot forward and tackled him, surprised that he didn't make any attempts at dodging. Sitting up, Anko held Naruto down and ripped the mask off and flipped the hood back. She was not, however, prepared for what met her eyes.

A young blonde male, very handsome in her eyes, with a blush on his cheecks, arms covering his chests like a female would cover their breasts.

"IAAAA!" Naruto yelled shaking. "You beast! ... Please be gentle."

Anko really blew up this time. Throwing away the mask she proceeded to choke him to death while shaking him. (Like Homer choking Bart)

Laughing a bit, while chocking, Naruto grabbed both wrists and flipped them over so he was on top, straddling her, holding her arms above her head. Anko started kicking and screaming obscenities at Naruto. Chuckling a little, Naruto decided to give a real introduction this time.

"Let's try this again shall we?" Anko stopped struggling, though Naruto still didn't get off. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, pleased to meet you. Might I be honoured to get the name of the lady...beneath...me?"

Huffing, Anko replied, "Mitarashi Anko, I help with the torture and interrogation within the leaf."

"Yes, of course. Might I ask as to why you attacked me?"

"You were trespassing on MY territory." Anko replied, defiantly.

"Your territory? I don't recall the forest or any training grounds belonging to one person. The village operates and controls training grounds 44 does it not?" Anko nodded. "Then why do you claim that it is your territory?"

"I spend all my time here. It's one of those things that everyone just accepts and everyone knows about it." Anko replied.

"Ah, of course." Noticing their position, Naruto decided to get up. "Sorry about holding you down for so long, you must be uncomfortable. Allow me." Naruto stoop up and helped Anko up, patting the dirt off the back of her trench coat. "It was a pleasure to meet you Mitarashi-san." Naruto said, taking a deep bow. "I bid you goodnight and adieu." With that, Naruto disappeared into the night, leaving a confused Anko standing in the middle of the forest.

"What does adieu mean?" Thinking over, she just shrugged and decided to go back home and sleep on this interesting new character that appeared in the leaf.

_**Monday**_

_**Academy**_

Naruto walked down the hallways of the academy, listening to the chatter of all the classrooms. _'Too many genin. Most of them are going to die.'_ He looked at many of the new genin sadly, wondering of any of them knew what being a ninja truly meant.

Walking into his classroom, he looked around and saw that everybody was present except for Mizuki. _'Wonder what happened to him...oh well.'_ Naruto walked up the stairs and sat beside Shikamaru. Greeting each other with a nod, Naruto sat down and Shikamaru lay his head down on his desk again.

"Congratulations genin. Today, you are to be assigned two teammates and a jounin sensei. First, Team One..." And so the teams started getting called out while Naruto also lay his head down.

"...Team Seven, Uchiha Sasuke." Many of the girls perked up at this, hoping that their name would be called. "Haruno Sakura," Sakura jumped in joy and gloated over all the other girls. "And..." he paused, building up suspense. Many of the fan girls leaning forward hoping that their name was to be called. "Uzumaki Naruto." As soon as the name was said, a silence fell upon the classroom. Almost everyone turned their head to the back to look at said blonde who was seemingly asleep. Continuing with the teams, Iruka called out the rest of the teams.

"Team Eight, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino. Team Nine is still in circulation under jounin Maito Gai. Team Ten, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji." And he went on to finish the rest of the teams.

"Your jounin sensei will be here shortly to pick you up. Please wait patiently." And with that, Iruka left.

A few minutes later, a kunoichi with waist length shaggy black hair appeared at the door. "Team Eight come with me." The members of Team Eight stood up and walked to the door. Then, a bearded man with a smoke in his mouth walked in.

"Team Ten come with me." And they followed. Slowly, all the teams were called and led out, that is all except Team Seven. Sitting there waiting for almost half an hour, Sakura started to get agitated, her patience wearing thin.

"DAMMIT WHERE IS HE?" She yelled out in frustration. Sasuke did not even pay attention and kept staring out the window. Naruto had woken from his nap and started meditating.

_**Two and a Half Hours Later**_

The door opened and a silver haired jounin poked his head in. Sakura and Sasuke turned to look at the man, Naruto just opened an eye to look at the man. "Team Seven?" Sakura nodded in confirmation. "Meet at the rooftops in five minutes. If any of you are missing or late, I won't be teaching this team." With that, he disappeared with a poof. Sakura and Sasuke quickly ran out the door in hopes to reach the rooftop before the time was up, forgetting about their blonde teammate.

_**Rooftop**_

Kakashi was reading his book peacefully, though in his mind, he was wondering how his students took to waiting for him for three hours. _'It'll be fine.'_

"So Hatake-san, care to tell me why you were late?" a voice said to his side. Surprised and caught off guard, he turned to look at his student. _'How did he get up here without me noticing?'_

Kakashi sighed, knowing that this team would be a real challenge..._if_ they passed the bell test. "How did you get here so fast? The average genin can't really climb walls or jump this high."

"Yes, well I'm not your average genin." Naruto answered calmly, walking to the railings and leaning on it.

"I can see that. Few jounin could fool my sensed, much less genin, which begs the question; who are you really?" Kakashi eyed Naruto, hoping that he would give an answer. Naruto looked a bit puzzled.

"Didn't the old man tell you who your students were?"

"The old man?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"The Hokage."Naruto replied. Kakashi's eyes widened in shock then narrowed.

"You had better show some respect to Hokage-sama, _genin_." Kakashi said dangerously, stressing the last word, genin.

Naruto smirked, "Well, if you knew the old man on a personal level, to the point that he is your grandfather...then it doesn't matter now does it?"

Kakashi seemed to buy that answer...for now.

"Now, again, why don't you know your student's names?"

"Oh...that...I didn't bother asking." Kakashi replied. "Back to the original question then, who are you?"

Naruto chuckled. "You'll find out when we do the introductions...here they come." Kakashi looked up from his book, and surely enough, there stood the rest of his team.

Sakura was breathing hard from running up the few flights of stairs, whereas Sasuke slightly winded because of his better physical conditioning.

"H-how did you get here before me and Sasuke-kun?" Sakura pointed an accusing finger at Naruto.

He shrugged. "I walked." Kakashi eye-smiled at the answer.

"Now now, all of you sit down." Kakashi said, pointing at some steps. Sakura and Sasuke sat down on them while Naruto stayed by the railing, leaning over and looking at the pedestrians below. "Let's begin with an introduction; I'll start to give you guys an idea of what to do." Kakashi said, clearing his throat. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes...are none of your business. My dislikes...you don't need to know. My hobbies...maybe I'll tell you when you're a bit older. My dreams...well you guys are too young to understand." Kakashi finished with a little giggle. Naruto chuckled along with him. Sakura and Sasuke however, looked incredulously at their teacher. He told them NOTHING! "You next, girl with the bright pink hair."

Sakura seemed a bit perturbed the name but continued anyways. "My name is Haruno Sakura. My likes include... (looks at Sasuke). My hobbies are...(looks at Sasuke). My dream is to _'fuck Sasuke unconscious'_...(looks at Sasuke). And my dislikes are Ino-pig!"

"You next duck butt." Kakashi pointed to Sasuke.

Growling a bit, Sasuke answered. "Uchiha Sasuke, not many likes, many dislikes. No dream, only an ambition to kill a certain man."

Kakashi inwardly sighed. _'Great, an avenger and a fan girl, let's hope this last guy is at least sane...'_ Kakashi pointed at Naruto, indicating that he wanted him to speak.

Naruto gained a smirk on his face. Yes...he would play with them. He pulled his mask out and put it on.

"VOILA!" he yelled, scaring the shit out of the onlookers. "In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious voracious violation of volition!" Turning abruptly, he pulled out a kunai and slashed a wall, forming a V. Calming down a bit, he continued. "The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous." Bringing his hands together, Naruto chuckled madly. "Verily this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honour to meet you and you may call me V."

The three nin looked at him like he was crazy. Kakashi had dropped his book, while Sasuke and Sakura had dropped their jaws. _'He IS crazy.'_

Naruto chuckled a little. "Just. Kidding." And the three nin face faulted. "Anyways, let me properly introduce myself." With that, he took his mask off and then took his hood off. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto," Kakashi's eyes widened in shock. "My likes include fuinjutsu, the forest of death and various amounts of food such as ramen and dango." Kakashi started to sweat a little at this. He was a bit too much like Anko to be safe. "My dislikes...well there are many dislikes and let's just leave it at that. My hobbies include taking strolls and naps in the forest of death," _'Yep too much like Anko.'_ Kakashi thought. "A dream for the future would be to make the Uzumaki clan name both respected and feared across the shinobi nations." He finished with a smile. "How was that for an introduction Inu-san?" He said to Kakashi.

Kakashi was shocked. "How did you know?"

"How would I NOT recognize that silver hair?" Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. Sakura decided to interject.

"Wait how do you know Kakashi-sensei?" She asked Naruto.

"Before I left, Kakashi here was still in ANBU. I would bother him all day long until he played with me." Naruto said a little smugly.

"Oi! Don't just go telling everyone that I used to be in ANBU." Kakashi smacked Naruto, getting aloud yelp from him. Naruto grumbled a bit. Turning towards the other students, he dismissed them with a few parting words. "Show up tomorrow for training. Six o'clock sharp. I suggest you don't eat in case you puke." With that, the two other nin left. Turning to his younger brother in all but blood, they started talking about the adventures that Naruto had in the past few years.

_**Few Hours Later**_

"You know that the team will not work out right?" Naruto informed Kakashi who only raised an eyebrow.

"And why do you think that?" Kakashi asked.

"The Uchiha's arrogance and pride will not allow him to work with others. Haruno-san also follows his every whim, and with the Uchiha already having a dislike of me...well you get the picture."

Kakashi nodded in acceptance. "We will have to see. If all else fails, then we would have to get you transferred off the team."

Naruto chuckled, "Trying to get rid of me already eh?"

"Maa maa. I doubt I could teach you anything useful anyways. If what you said is true about surpassing your grandfather, then all that's keeping from being a Kage is experience." Kakashi tried to placate Naruto, lest he be angry with him after meeting for the first time in over ten years.

"Well, being transferred off is only something I can hope for." Naruto said shrugging a bit. "Hmm...ne Kakashi."

"Yes Naruto-kun?"

"Do you know of a kunoichi who goes by the name of Mitarashi Anko? She works in the Toriture and Interrogation department of ANBU."

Kakashi started to sweat a little. "Uhh...yes...I know her, why?" Kakashi asked, a little scared of the reply.

"Well...I think she would be a pretty interesting sensei...wouldn't you agree?" Naruto turned to Kakashi, expecting an answer.

"Uh...I think that's a bad idea. How do you know her anyways?"

Naruto smirked, "I have my ways. I'll see you tomorrow morning." With that, he pulled his hood on and walked off into the night, completely blending in with the shadows.

Kakashi shivered. "It's creepy how he does that." Putting his hands into a seal, he disappeared with a poof.

_**Next Day**_

_**Training Grounds 7**_

The three genin sat in various places in the training grounds. Sasuke and Sakura sat under different trees, while Naruto was lying down in a tree, sleeping. The three were waiting for their sensei who, of course, would be three hours late.

_**Three Hours Later**_

Naruto was still sleeping, though he woke up when he felt the chakra signature of Kakashi in the area. The other two genin, however, were completely oblivious as they were too tired and hungry, trying only to stay awake. And with a 'poof', "YO!" Kakashi appeared in the clearing, scaring the two genin that did not sense him.

"YOU'RE LATE!" came from Sakura, pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi who only took up a thoughtful pose.

"Hmm...I said for you to be here at six in the morning, not me. So therefore, I'm not late!" He said cheerily. Sasuke could only try and glare his sensei to death. Kakashi eye smiled.

"Well, now that we're all here we can-" Only to be cut off by Sakura.

"Sensei, Uzumaki-san is still missing!" Sakura pointed out. No sooner had she said that, Naruto landed beside her.

"I'm here."

'_Short and concise.'_ Kakashi mused. "Yes, well now that we're all here, we can begin with the test." At this Sasuke's and Sakura's head snapped up so fast. Naruto was not as shocked, as he had expected something like this.

"What do you mean 'test'?" Sasuke said, finally deciding to voice his thoughts.

"You know that test that you took at the academy? Well it was garbage, it was only theory. This test is to see if you have what it takes _practically_ to function efficiently in the field, weeding out the weak so we don't have to drag your dead bodies back." Kakashi answered nonchalantly. Sakura was a bit troubled, knowing that her physical prowess was lacking. Sasuke was feeling a bit more confident, though he was still unsure of what this test is going to be. _'Probably just a ninjutsu or possibly a taijutsu test."_ Naruto stayed silent throughout.

"Well, you guys have till noon," Kakashi paused here to pull out an alarm clock. "In order to get these two bells," Taking out two bells and shaking it a bit. "From my waist." He said, tying it to his waist. "The person who does not get a bell is failed and is sent back for remedial training." He said seriously. "BEGIN!"

With that all three genin disappeared, observing the jounin.

Naruto sought out Sasuke's signature and went towards him.

"Oi! Sasuke!" Naruto whisper-yelled. (You know what I mean). Sasuke turned around and saw Naruto crouched behind him. "Want some help taking him down?" Naruto hoped he would say yes.

"No. Go away. I can get a bell by myself." Naruto sighed and jumped off in another direction.

"Oi! Sakura!" Sakura whipped around looking for the voice that called out towards her.

"Who's there? Is that you Uzumaki-san?" Sakura asked.

Naruto jumped down from a tree and landed in front of her.

"Yeah, it's me. Want to work together and get a bell?" Naruto, again, hoped that a yes would be the answer...and again...

"No. If you get a bell, then I can't be with Sasuke-kun anymore! Stop bothering me now!" And with that, Naruto jumped off again.

After half an hour, Naruto decided that he would confront the jounin by himself after seeing Sakura being taken down by a low rank genjutsu and Sasuke buried up to his neck by a slightly higher level ninjutsu.

Landing in front of Kakashi, he pulled out his mask and put it on. Kakashi looked up from his book and eye smiled.

"I was wondering when you would come out. I'm guessing that teamwork failed?"

"Yep. But that's not keeping me from fighting you. I want to know where I stand in the food chain." Naruto said with a smirk.

"Be careful what you wish for Naruto-kun." Kakashi said, stowing his erotica away and falling into a basic taijutsu stance. Naruto grinned.

Naruto rushed up to Kakashi and threw a punch, though that got dodged. As expected of a jounin. Following up with a high kick, and then flowing into a low sweep, Kakashi ducked and jumped over the kick and sweep. Pulling out a few shuriken, Kakashi flung them at Naruto who took out his own shuriken and deflected them in mid-flight. Naruto pulled out a kunai and started slashing away at Kakashi.

'_Shit he's fast.'_ Kakashi thought. _'I might even have to pull out the Sharingan early.'_

Kakashi reached up to his headband, but before he could pull it back, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_" and 'poof' another Naruto appeared behind Kakashi, looped their arms together and interlaced his fingers behind Kakashi's head. Kakashi's eyes widened at the trouble as soon as he saw the clone. Naruto came running, kunai in hand, and stabbed Kakashi in the abdomen, which only caused him to 'poof'.

'_Shit! Couldn't get him before he switched.'_ Naruto and his clone both looked around for any signs of the jounin.

Meanwhile in the bushes, Kakashi was hiding, contemplating on what had happened. His Sharingan eye revealed and observing Naruto's actions. He sighed inwardly, wondering how strong the kid had grown.

Naruto seemed to be waiting for Kakashi to come out, but one of his hands was in his coat, preparing exploding tags. He turned to his clone and nodded. They both jumped into the trees, planting tags on almost every other tree. _'I hope Jiji won't mind me blowing up half the training ground.'_ Creating three more clones, he sent them to put up perimeter seals to contain the explosion.

Back in the clearing of the training grounds, Naruto reappeared and started pacing around, waiting for the clones to dispel. Once they did, Naruto spoke up.

"Kakashi-san! If you won't come out, I'm going to have to smoke you out!" Naruto yelled. In the bushes, Kakashi was a bit scared at what Naruto would do. "Still won't come out? Oh well, don't say that I didn't warn you." With that, he put his hands together and sent out a small pulse of chakra, barely noticeable, activating the hundred or so tags in the forest. The explosion, quite literally, both smoked and blew Kakashi out of his hiding place and in front of Naruto, although a bit charred and covered in soot.

Standing up, Kakashi coughed and dusted himself off, trying to get rid of the soot that covered him. "How many tags did you even put up?" Kakashi said, still coughing a bit.

Naruto only grinned victoriously. "I put up a hundred tags or so. All spread out around the forest through Kage Bunshins. I figured if you were going to keep hiding, and I wasn't about to go into the forest in search of you and risk an ambush, I might as well force you out. And well...here you are!"

Kakashi sighed, "Looks like I have to go serious on a genin."

Naruto's grin only got wider, though nobody could see under that mask.

Kakashi dashed at Naruto at a top speed, pulling out a kunai. He made several slashes, many of which came close to drawing blood.

"Damn, guess you're not jounin for nothin'." Naruto commented on Kakashi's speed while ducking under another slash. Though one thing Kakashi did not notice was that Naruto was dragging his feet on the ground, making indentations of all shapes and sizes on the ground. After a few minutes, Naruto quickly jumped back from Kakashi who had stopped his offense, waiting for Naruto to make a move.

Naruto smirked, "Kakashi-san, this is your first big mistake."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Naruto pointed down, and he looked down. He saw lines in the ground, intricate lines all leading to the centre, where he was standing. Taking a step back, he saw the Kanji, 'Bakuhatsu' in the circle on the ground. His eyes widened. _'A giant explosive tag made from the ground?'_

"SHIT!" Kakashi yelled as Naruto activated the giant exploding tag. Kakashi quickly formed hand seals for a Kawarimi, but was a little too late. He was already partially caught in the explosion. When the smoke cleared, Kakashi was standing there, many parts of his uniform destroyed. He was also bleeding from cuts all over his body, though none were lethal.

Coughing, "That could have killed me!" Kakashi half yelled at Naruto.

"Be glad that you weren't an enemy, otherwise I wouldn't have given you the time to Kawarimi." Naruto said calmly, and then he smiled. "Anyways, you should give up. I've won already."

Kakashi tilted his head a bit in confusion. "What do you mean you've won? It's only started."

"Well first of all, you are tired and already wounded, whereas I am only slightly winded from our exchange earlier. Drawing this fight out any longer would cost you more than a few cuts and bruises. Secondly," Naruto started forming hand seals. " _Ninpo: Kakusui Kekkai no Jutsu_ " A barrier in the form of a pyramid rose up around Kakashi and met at a point at the top. "This is a personal jutsu of mine used to trap enemies who are already weakened." Naruto chuckled a little. "Even though I say weakened, it can still withstand quite a lot of power...care to test it out?"

"...You win." Kakashi sighed as the barrier deactivated. "Beaten by a genin not even a week old, how very very sad." Kakashi said as he shook his head, disappointed in himself.

Naruto laughed at Kakashi's expense. "Don't fret it; I am a very well trained genin, trained by one of the most powerful men in the world, in the most powerful art in the world. So don't feel too bad about it." Naruto said, trying to comfort his friend.

Kakashi sighed again, "Yeah, anyways I'm going to go and report to the Hokage. From what I could see, this team definitely is not going to work. I'll see what I can do to get you on another team or maybe even an apprenticeship to another jounin. Too bad I'm gunna be stuck teaching those two, otherwise the council will get real pissy." He said, jabbing his thumb in the direction of a passed out Sakura and an unconscious Sasuke, still buried and now knocked out from the shockwaves of the multiple explosions.

"I thought the council had been taken care of?" Naruto said, confused.

"Yeah, they have, but not before they sank their fangs into the last Uchiha, making sure that he was made a shinobi and put on my team because I have a Sharingan. Anyways, gotta go. See ya!" Poof. He was gone.

Naruto sighed and decided to head home, leaving his two unconscious 'teammates' in the clearing.

_**Hokage's Office**_

Clearing his throat, Hiruzen Sarutobi called all his ninja to attention. "Report! Which teams passed and which failed?"

Each jounin lined up and got ready to report their teams.

"Team one failed."

"Team two failed."

"Team three failed."

"Four...failed."

"Team five failed."

"Team six failed."

Kakashi looked up from his book. "Team seven..." Everyone was expecting a fail, knowing his record. "Pass, though very barely." People looked surprised. "If you would permit, Hokage-sama, I would like to make my report after everyone has gone." Sarutobi nodded.

Kurenai stepped up. "Team eight, Passed. They have shown the necessary qualities of a team. Kiba is too headstrong though, and Hinata is too shy. Shino is...well...too quiet. Though, I believe with a bit of practise, they could make a reconnaissance or support team."

Asuma then stepped up, seeing that Kurenai was finished. "Team ten passed. The Nara kid is too lazy, though Yamanaka Ino seems to keep him and Akimichi Chouji motivated and in line."

And on went the rest of the teams who all failed. Finally, when it all finished, Sarutobi looked to Kakashi for his report. Kakashi stepped forward.

"Hokage-sama, Team Seven is an utter failure of a team. The only reason it passed is because of two reasons. First, the council would have a bitch fit if I did not pass the last Uchiha, and second, a fresh out of the academy genin beat me in single combat." Kakashi shocked his audience saying that, though many were sceptical.

"Surely the Uchiha isn't that strong Kakashi-san." A random jounin called out.

"No, he isn't. The Uchiha wasn't the one that beat me." Now all the jounin were interested in this mystery student they have not heard about. Kakashi looked to the Hokage. "I'm sure that you, Hokage-sama, saw the fight?"

Sarutobi nodded, getting the hint, and pulled out his crystal orb. Running through many hand seals, he projected the image for all to see. The fight was...less than spectacular for Kakashi. The boy's cleverness and ingenuity had been two steps ahead of Kakashi. All of the jounin stood there shocked. Kakashi was embarrassed that he was beaten by a genin and was rubbing the back of his neck.

Kakashi chuckled nervously. "As you can see, he is well above the skill level of genin, so I recommend that he be given a field test and promotion to chunin. If not, then at least a change of teachers, because I am stuck with the Uchiha, so just get another student to fill in for him on my team while he is under the tutelage, or possibly apprenticeship, of another teacher." Kakashi finished with a determined tone.

Sarutobi sat there, puffing on his pipe, thinking about the options. The team, obviously, was going to fail. Looking up, "Boar." A Boar masked ANBU dropped down. "Get Uzumaki-kun here please. I would like his input on some of this." The ANBU bowed and quickly left to retrieve Naruto.

After a few minutes, Boar and Naruto reappeared in the room with a 'poof'.

"You needed me Hokage-sama?" Naruto said with a bow, remembering to show respect in front of others.

"Yes, Kakashi-san here has informed me of your skills, and I have seen them as well. Your skill is well above the genin level and Kakashi has recommended a field test in order to promote you to chunin." Sarutobi informed Naruto, who looked a bit happy at this information. "However," His happiness rating dropped. "You are still somewhat inexperienced in this village's eyes, as you have not done any official missions for this village; therefore I have decided to transfer you to another teacher." Sarutobi stopped, letting the information sink in.

"I understand Hokage-sama, however, if possible, I would like to make a request for my new sensei." Sarutobi nodded for Naruto to continue. "I know of a jounin in the Torture and Interrogation department of the ANBU. Her name is Mitarashi Anko. If possible, I would like to be taught by her." Kurenai's eyes narrowed a little at the request while Sarutobi only raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? May I ask why her and not someone else?" Sarutobi asked Naruto.

"First, is because I believe I have much to learn in the field of interrogation. While her methods may not be as effective or efficient, nor does her experience match Morino Ibiki's, I understand that Morino-san is a busy man and may not have time to teach a genin. That, and the fact that we have met already, and have not killed each other yet." Naruto said with a straight face.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow while many jounin sweatdropped. "Haven't killed each other yet? Meaning you tried already?"

"Correction, SHE has tried, I have not, and as you can see...her attempts were unsuccessful."

"I...see." Sarutobi said while thinking deeply. After a minute of contemplation, he had come to a decision. "Very well, I will grant your request for being the student and apprentice to one Mitarashi Anko. You will be taking C and B ranked missions under her tutelage because of your skills, and if you prove yourself, you will be allowed to take a field promotion exam to become a chunin."

The jounin in the room paled. Possibly another Anko.

Naruto bowed with a mischievous grin. "Thank you Hokage-sama."

**TBC**

**How was this chapter?**

**Slightly longer than the other.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed it!**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**

**I need to know what I need to possibly fix or what I can improve on in order to make this story better!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I am so sorry for such a late update! First week I had graduation stuff, then my computer broke down and was out of commission for two weeks! And just this week I had three final exams! ARG! School sucks! Still have one English provincial, but after that it's summer and I will have time to work on this fic! And find a job as well...but yeah...Anyways ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything else that I may use from existing works. They belong to their respective author(s) and creator(s).**

_**Hokage Tower**_

The room had fallen into a dead silence. Uzumaki Naruto, a newly made Genin had just landed an apprenticeship under a Tokubetsu Jonin. While apprenticeships were not completely rare, they were uncommon. Also, the fact that the second most scary person in Konoha was going to be the master...many Jonins in the room were a little uneasy.

"ANBU. Get Mitarashi Anko here now." Sarutobi commanded, seemingly to no particular person in the room. A shinobi, cloaked in white and an animal mask, jumped out, bowed and used a **Shunshin** to his destination.

A minute or so later, a knocking could be heard on the doors. Everyone turned to look at the door, except for Kakashi of course; he just kept reading his book.

A purple haired kunoichi walked in, with a somewhat confused look. Bowing slightly, she addressed the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, you called for me?"

"Yes," Sarutobi nodded. "I did. I called you here to inform you that you have been assigned an apprentice." Sarutobi paused a little. Anko's eyes widening in shock. "He will be learning how to extract information from captured shinobi from you." Anko's mouth opened to complain, but Sarutobi halted that with the raising of his hand. "He has shown skills greatly beyond that of a Genin, and he has also specifically requested you to be his mentor. This is non-negotiable. The two of you will form a two person cell, and will be sent out on missions ranked C and above...depending on your skill of course."

Anko's head bowed in submission. She could not refuse a direct order from a superior. "I understand Hokage-sama. May I ask who he is?"

Sarutobi smiled, he motioned to Anko's left. "His name is Uzumaki Naruto."

Anko turned to her left and saw the grinning face of Uzumaki Naruto. Pointing a shaking and accusing finger at her target, she yelled. "YOU!"

Quickly looking left and right Naruto saw nobody beside him, all other Jonins had quickly ran out of her line of sight. He pointed to himself. "Me?" Anko nodded furiously. "No! Not me! Must be you!" Naruto pointed back at her. Anko screamed in frustration, pulling on her hair.

Naruto chuckled a little. "Let's go and have a proper introduction over some dango, my treat. What do you say?"

As if a light switch had been flicked, Anko's frustration diminished and was replaced with childish glee. Quickly grabbing a hold of the blonde, she dragged him to the nearest dango shop in record time. The Jonins sweat dropped at the sight. Sarutobi sighed, knowing that things would be much more interesting as well as hectic. And with a combination of Anko and Naruto, he was bound to get more paperwork. The Sandaime Hokage, Shinobi no Kami cried himself to sleep that night.

_**Dango Store**_

Many of the patrons in the shop looked on in shock as the duo cleaned off hundreds of sticks of dango in record time. After a few minutes, a little mountain of dishes was piled up on the table. Naruto and Anko both sat back and sighed in content.

"That...was great." Naruto stated.

"I totally agree. You know kid, you're not so bad, it's just that you just get on my nerves very easily."

Naruto chuckled a bit at the jibe. "Yes, well I try... Anyways let's get the real introductions started. I'll go first. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like many things, and among them is a love of fuinjiutsu, the forest of death and food, such as dango. I also dislike many things, but I won't tell you who or what. I have many hobbies, but you could probably tell from my likes. Now your turn." Naruto nodded to Anko, motioning for her to start.

Anko narrowed her eyes in suspicion. _'Why is he all of a sudden so open about himself?'_ After staring at Naruto, who only raised an expectant eyebrow at the kunoichi, for a few minutes she seemed to give up trying figure him out.

"The name's Mitarashi Anko kid. My likes are of course dango, red bean soup and tea ceremonies. My dislikes..." Anko had gone silent at this point. Try as she might to hide it, she was still hurting from the betrayal of her sensei, and Naruto could see the pain she was in. Naruto's eyes softened and just sat there, giving the kunoichi some time to recompose herself. Anko took a deep breath. "As I was saying, my dislikes are traitors and those who take everything at face value and judge others according to what they see." Naruto nodded slowly, having experienced the same treatment from the villagers.

"Any hobbies, dreams or goals for the future?" Naruto asked, trying to steer the conversation away from painful memories.

Anko looked thoughtful. "Hmm... a hobby of mine would be the process of extracting information from enemies. A definite goal for the future is to see to the death of my traitorous sensei." Anko's eyes burned with determination at the end.

"And I will help you achieve your goal in every way I can. That's what friends are for right?" Naruto finished with a kind smile.

Anko looked absolutely shocked. Her body stiffened and her face showed surprise. _'Friends...he wants to be friends?_ '

Naruto saw the smile disappear from her face, thinking for the worst. "If you don't want to be friends, that's fine."

Anko looked down and shook her head. "No." She stated softly but firmly. "Friends. I like the sound of that." Looking back up she gave her best smile to the blonde, who returned it full force.

It was the start of a beautiful relationship.

_**Few Months Later**_

Naruto had been summoned by the Hokage, though he already knew the reason. After all, he had been training hard the past week so he could prove that he is ready for the rank of Chunin. Quickly jumping from rooftop to rooftop, he made good time towards the Hokage tower.

_**Hokage Tower**_

Knocking on the door to the Sandaime's office, he heard him say 'enter' before turning the knob and walking in. As he opened the door, he could see many Jonin in the room, _'Most likely just to watch how my test goes.' _Naruto thought to himself.

"Hokage-sama, you called me here for the test?"

Sarutobi nodded in confirmation. "Yes, I have." He said, his hand motioning to various shinobi. "They are to be your examiners. Impress them and your promotion to Chunin will almost be guaranteed."

Just as he finished talking, a man with long spiky white hair, walked up to Naruto. He was wearing a red sleeveless cloak with two yellow circles at the front, positioned above the breast. Underneath, he wore mesh armour covered by a green shirt kimono and matching green pants. The man, Jiraiya, looked at Naruto closely, examining him.

"Hmm...you look just like your father." Jiraiya stated. Naruto raised an eyebrow, curious.

"You knew my father personally?" he asked the man.

Jiraiya had a sad smile on his face. "Yeah...I taught him for a while." Naruto nodded in acceptance. "Anyways, from what I hear, you have your mother's personality, though not as hot headed from what I see...more...in control?" Jiraiya finished with a thoughtful look.

Naruto smirked. "Yes, my mother left Uzushio at a very young age. She did not have enough time to learn many of our clan customs and etiquette." Naruto chuckled a little. "Leaving only with a basic knowledge of seals, I'm surprised she was able to teach my father."

It was now Jiraiya's turn to smirk. "So you think your mother's knowledge on seals was basic eh? Well, I'll have to personally see how good your seals are. After all, I AM the only seal master in Konoha." When Jiraiya finished, he had a smug smirk on his face. Naruto only stared at Jiraiya and Jiraiya stared back.

Sarutobi decided to intervene before they started to get sidetracked. "Ahem. Stand down Jiraiya, we are here today to test Naruto-kun's skill to see if he has what it takes to be Chunin." Sarutobi stood up. "Let us go to the testing grounds."

Everyone disappeared with a 'poof'.

_**Private Testing Grounds**_

"Okay Naruto-kun. Your first test will be administered by Kakashi...wait...where is he?" Everyone looked around and could see neither hide nor hair of the man. Suddenly a 'poof' signified the arrival of another person. It was Kakashi.

"Sorry I'm late, got lost on the road of life." Everyone sweat dropped at his lame excuse. It was, of course, obvious that he was lying. "Anyways, what's happening right now? Did Naruto get tested yet?"

Sarutobi shook his head in shame. "No...you are the first examiner. Naruto, you and Kakashi will face of in a ninjutsu only fight. This will see how adept you are at using jutsu for defensive and offensive purposes, understood?"

Naruto nodded, and then faced off against Kakashi.

"You ready Kakashi-san?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi eye smiled. "Come at me whenever you're ready."

Naruto only smirked, and then started to make a few hand seals. Taking a deep breath in, he expelled it out as a blazing hot flamethrower. "_Katon:Karyu Endan!_" Kakashi's eyes widened and quickly substituted himself. _'B-rank right off the bat...'_ he thought as he also ran through hand seals for a fire technique.

"_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!_" Kakashi yelled as he expelled a large amount of chakra that turned into a large ball of fire, flying towards Naruto.

Naruto, who was just letting up his flames, had noticed the giant fireball that was flying at him. Quickly noting that he only burned a log, he concentrated and controlled the flow of his chakra. Running through hand seals while using his chakra to pull the moisture from the air, he yelled out his jutsu. "_Suiton: Suijinheki_"

A torrent of water surrounded Naruto, twisting and turning. The fireball had not chance as it collided with the torrent of water. As soon as the fireball hit, a large amount of steam was released into the area.

The Hokage and the onlookers were shocked that Naruto had such mastery over water. _'Pulling the moisture from the air to form water, I haven't seen something so amazing since Tobirama-sensei.'_ Sarutobi thought.

Kakashi, quickly pulling up his headband, revealing his single Sharingan, quickly formed handseals. Deciding to use the water left from the Suijinheki, he quickly formed his jutsu and fired it into the steam, hoping to get a lucky hit.

"_Suiton: Suiryudan_"

Fortunately, Naruto saw it coming and quickly went through another set of handseals, deciding against using another defensive water technique, he opted for an earth technique.

"_Doton: Doryuheki_" he yelled out. The dirt before him shifted and moved until a wall about 5 metres wide and 7 metres tall was raised and blocked the water dragon, forcing the water to go around the wall. Naruto took this opportunity to make three clones and made them surround the general area that Kakashi was in. The three clones started to make hand signs for a barrier to trap Kakashi in while the real Naruto threw a kunai and ran through his own set of hand seals.

"_Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_"

The one kunai quickly multiplied and became hundreds. Kakashi's eyes widened, trying to find a way out. He looked towards one of the clones and started to run towards it. _'Come on come on come on! MAKE IT IN TIME!'_ Kakashi yelled in his head. Quickly getting into a comfortable range, Kakashi substituted with the clone. The clone dispelled itself before it could be pierced by the hundreds of kunai flying at it. The other two clones stopped their hand seals now that they were missing a third person to form a necessary barrier.

The two clones decided to rush Kakashi, while the real Naruto stood back, providing long range support for his clones, and firing fireball after fireball. Kakashi was forced on the defensive, dodging fireballs and the two clones that were trying to capture him. Taking out some wire, he attached them to shuriken and threw the shuriken, successfully capturing a clone. Quickly running through hand seals for another fire technique, "_Katon:Ryuka no Jutsu_" fire ran down the wire and burned the clone, causing it to dispel. However, this allowed for the other clone to close the distance and throw a jab at him. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. _'Using a clone as a distraction so he can freely launch jutsu at me…not bad.'_ Kakashi quickly turned and subdued the clone, holding it in position with its hands behind its back.

The clone, however, smirked and all of a sudden, it exploded. Smoke covered the area where the explosion took place. A figure suddenly flew out of the smoke and landed on the ground in a heap. It was Kakashi with many light burn marks and covered in soot.

Kakashi groaned and winced as he slowly sat up. "Taken out twice...by explosions. This better not become a regular occurrence."

Naruto chuckled and walked up to Kakashi, extending a hand. Kakashi accepted it and pulled himself up. Seeing that Naruto was breathing heavier and sweating, he smirked under his mask. _'At least I made him work hard.'_

Clapping was heard and both shinobi turned and saw the Hokage clapping. "Spectacular. Now Kakashi, how would you rate Naruto's ninjutsu?" Sarutobi asked.

Kakashi bowed. "Hai, Naruto's arsenal seems to be of a moderate size, and he does not have many high levelled jutsu, thus putting him at a...High Chunin. However, his timing and execution of the jutsu is superb…Honestly, I believe that he has the required skills in Ninjutsu to become a Tokubetsu Jonin." **(1)**

The Hokage smiled, pleased that his adoptive grandson was already showing so much skill. "And next you will be tested in Genjutsu. Simply show what you can cast and what you can dispel. Kurenai-san, please come forward."

With that, a black haired, red eyed beauty stepped forward.

"Pleased to meet you Naruto-san." Kurenai said.

Naruto nodded his head. "Let's get this started. Hit me with your strongest Genjutsu."

Kurenai raised her eyebrow. "If you say so..." She said while flipping through hand seals.

"**Magen: Jubaku Satsu.**"

A tree sprang up from the ground and gripped Naruto, binding his arms to the branches and his legs to the trunk. An arm appeared out of the tree and pressed a kunai up against Naruto's neck. Kurenai seemed to phase out from the tree, kunai still in hand.

"Your overconfidence has just caused you to die if this was a real battle Naruto-san." Kurenai spoke from above.

Naruto turned his head back towards Kurenai and disappeared in a flurry of sakura petals. Noticing the familiar genjutsu, Kurenai stopped the circulation of chakra within her system and then sent out a pulse, disrupting the illusion.

The world around her shimmered and disappeared. Looking around Kurenai saw that the training grounds was clear and Naruto was nowhere in sight. Shifting her stance a little, the ground broke apart underneath her, sending her into free fall.

'_Another illusion?'_ Kurenai thought to herself while falling into the darkness of the pit. Closing her eyes, she gathered her chakra again, and sent out another pulse, breaking through the second illusion. Opening her eyes, she found Naruto standing not half a metre away.

"Kurenai-san, in a battle you would have died just now."

Kurenai was surprised and embarrassed that she was bested in her own specialty. "May I ask what that technique was?"

Naruto stood unmoving for a second before answering. "That was my best genjutsu. It takes advantage of the fact that when you use a genjutsu you establish a link to the target's brain with your chakra. By using the same link that you established, I send my own wave of chakra, overpowering yours, and sending back my own genjutsu. Even the Sharingan would be hard pressed to detect and dispel the genjutsu." **(2)**

Kurenai and those who knew how genjutsu worked nodded in understanding. Kurenai looked at Naruto, curious, "That couldn't have been your only genjutsu right? You must have others."

Naruto nodded in confirmation. "I do, however that was my only high level genjutsu. All my other genjutsu are just there to throw the enemy off."

Kurenai's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "Wouldn't it be much more efficient if you just used a more powerful genjutsu? You would be able to stun the enemy for at least a few seconds. With the smaller genjutsu, they could just dispel quickly."

"I understand what you mean however, that only works when you have multiple people."

"How so?"

"Think about it like this. In a full on frontal fight, you may not have enough time to cast genjutsu, so large scale or very powerful genjutsu may not work. Also, smaller genjutsu take little to no chakra to use. And while they may not take very much time to dispel, by using a large number of distracters, the enemy would have to put his hands up to dispel every time he comes across a genjutsu. The time it takes to dispel every genjutsu compiles, and eventually there will be an opening in his defences. Also, the total amount of chakra going into the numerous smaller genjutsu may not be as much as a very powerful one."

Kurenai looked at Naruto, speechless. "I've never thought of using genjutsu like that..."

Naruto smiled. "Well then, there's something new for you to experiment with."

Kurenai nodded and smiled back. "I will." She said, and then turned towards the Hokage. "Naruto-san has shown decent skill in genjutsu. The technique he created should be able to counter any genjutsu directed at him. Although his repertoire is small, it is effective. I would rate him at a Chunin level in genjutsu, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi nodded, clearly happy with the results.

"Next test, Taijutsu. Maito Gai, come forward." Sarutobi ordered.

A man wearing a green spandex suit came up. "YOSH! I SHALL TEST THE FLAMES OF YOUR YOUTH NARUTO-SAN!" He struck the 'nice guy' pose, complete with the glinting teeth. Everyone in the testing grounds shivered.

Naruto twitched then shuddered. Shaking his head, he got into a loose stance with his arms in front of him. Giving the man in green a nod, Gai surged forward, aiming a punch at Naruto's chest. Seeing the punch coming, Naruto grabbed the bottom of Gai's wrist while using his other hand, Naruto grabbed the area just before Gai's elbow joint. Pushing the elbow down, this caused Gai to lose his balance, but he quickly corrected himself, going into a crouching stance, he thrust his elbow into Naruto's Solar Plexus. Naruto's eyes widened as the hit connected. He could only bend his body backwards in order to soften the blow.

Taking a few steps back, Naruto shook himself out. Taking a deep breath, he got into his ready stance again. Gai came charging again, but this time with a flying kick.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"

Naruto quickly ducked down, the kick almost shaving his hair and scalp off. Turning around, Naruto saw Gai already launching a roundhouse to his face. Stepping slightly to the side, Naruto caught the leg and stepped in. Putting his own leg behind Gai's supporting left leg, he tripped and pushed Gai onto his back. Naruto pulled back his hand, ready knock the man out when Gai pulled both legs in and kangaroo kicked Naruto off of him. Naruto flew back a good twenty metres before flipping into an upright position and landing into his ready stance again.

"That really hurt." Naruto winced in pain.

"Don't worry my youthful friend. Just give it your best." Gai shouted back in his own unique way.

Naruto thought to himself for a few seconds before looking back to Gai. "Ne Gai-san, you wear weights right?"

Gai nodded in confirmation. "Hai Naruto-san, I do...why do you ask?"

"Well, I thought that if I give it my all, then it's only fair that you do as well... so I want you to take off your weights and then fight me."

The bystanders were a little shocked at what Naruto was requesting.

"No." Gai said while he shook his head. "If I do that then I'm afraid it might be too dangerous for you. I could unintentionally injure you."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding, a little disappointed that Gai refused his request...before he thought of something. Naruto raised his eyebrows. _'Could this work?'_ Deciding to test the waters a little Naruto shouted back to Gai.

"Gai-san. That is very youthful!" Naruto shouted in the same tone that Gai usually does.

The spectators were caught off guard and wondered what Naruto was planning.

"W-w-what do you mean Naruto-san?" Gai asked, a little scared of the response.

Naruto bit back the urge to smirk. Deciding to continue with his acting, he put up a sad and disappointed look. "It seems your flames of youth are dying Gai-san." Gai looked horrified and shocked at this. "It is very unyouthful to not give your best when your opponent is giving theirs you know."

Gai was frozen on his spot. _'H-have I truly lost my flames of youth? Have they dimmed so much?'_ Shaking his headout of such thoughts Gai looked back at Naruto with newfound determination. "YOSH! I REALIZE MY MISTAKES NARUTO-SAN! I SHALL RECTIFY THEM BY TAKING YOU SERIOUSLY!" Gai yelled at the top of his lungs as he quickly took off both his weights on his legs.

The Hokage and other Jonin sweatdropped. _'Tricked so easily...'_ Everyone thought at the same time.

Gai charged at Naruto with his top speed, throwing a right hook. Naruto, who couldn't dodge in time, was being punched around like a punching bag. Naruto grunted in pain from every hit that Gai got in. Gai, who had finally decided to stop beating Naruto up, gave a final kick which made Naruto roll and flip over himself several times on the ground before sliding to a stop.

"It's over Naruto-san. You have shown me your skills, and they are more than sufficient for Chunin. Plus, you need energy for the next few tests as well." Gai said, preparing to walk away.

Naruto lay on the ground, eyes closed and taking in deep breaths. "Wait Gai-san. I still haven't shown you what I've got yet." Naruto said from his position on the ground.

Everybody looked at Naruto, surprised that he could still fight.

"Hokage-sama. You had better stop him before he hurts himself." One Jonin said, others nodding in agreement.

"Now, now, let us see what he can do before that." Sarutobi said before waving them off.

Taking a few more breaths, Naruto got up to a sitting position._'Gotta love purified chakra. Just keeps you energized FOREVER! Healed most wounds already...though that could also be Kyubi...'_

Getting back up into a standing position, Naruto took off his now tattered cloak and cracked armour and put them to the side. _'Good God, just how strong is he?'_

Now in just his Uzumaki Clan robes **(3)**, he got into his stance again, but this time Naruto disappeared in a show of speed. Gai, who was stunned by the speed, suddenly felt a blunt force hit him the back as he flew forward. Quickly orientating himself, he turned around and saw Naruto disappear again. Only from years of training and missions did his senses tell him that there was danger, so he brought his arms up to his left side as a shield. Not a second later, a kick was aimed at his left side, hitting his arms, propelling him towards his right.

Gai tumbled on the ground for a good distance before hitting the earth wall that Naruto made earlier. Gai slowly pushed himself back up. _'His speed is amazing, it surpasses even mine.'_ He thought to himself while staring at Naruto's figure 30 metres away, that is, before said figure disappeared in a blur again.

Reappearing before Gai, Naruto stood into a slow stance, hand brought back ready for a punch. Seeing this, Gai's eyes widened and he decided to dive out of the way.

"**SOKOTSU."**

The punch impacted against the wall, literally turning most of it into dust.

Sarutobi was shocked._ 'T-that's like Tsunade's super strength! Maybe even more powerful!' _The other Jonin looking at the scene were also thinking something along the same lines.

Gai himself was unnerved at the power behind the punch. Sighing, Gai raised his hand, palm facing outwards, telling Naruto to stop. "That would be more than enough Naruto-san." Gai said in an uncharacteristically serious tone. "You have definitely proved yourself to be very proficient in Taijutsu. I can see that your style revolves around counter-attacking but you are also comfortable with launching very...devastating attacks." Gai commented, turning towards the Hokage, he continued. "Naruto-san here has shown more than enough skill in Taijutsu to become Chunin. In fact, I recommend that he become a Tokubetsu Jonin, specialising in Taijutsu and a secondary in Ninjutsu."

Sarutobi nodded, accepting the recommendation. "Very well. Uzumaki Naruto, you have been found skilful **(4)** enough in the fundamental arts of shinobi to become a Chunin, and therefore, upon your completion of 300 missions, you will be granted a field promotion to Chunin. When the time comes and you have filled your mission quota, you will be promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin." Sarutobi said in a voice of authority.

Naruto bowed his head. "Thank you Hokage-sama."

"Your skills in kenjutsu and fuinjutsu will be evaluated in private and at a later time." Sarutobi then turned to the rest of the Jonins. "You're all DISMISSED!" with that they all bowed and vanished with a poof.

_**Hokage Tower**_

_**Office**_

Sarutobi, Jiraiya and Naruto all appeared back in the office.

Sarutobi looked at Naruto before speaking. "Unfortunately we cannot evaluate your kenjutsu skills today because our kenjutsu specialist is currently out on a mission. However, Jiraiya is here and he is the seal master of Konoha and will be able to evaluate your skills in fuinjutsu."

By the time Sarutobi finished, Jiraiya had a huge smug grin on his face while Naruto looked sceptical.

"Are you sure Hokage-sama? He doesn't look like much." Sarutobi smiled in amusement while Jiraiya twitched.

"Don't you know who I am?" Jiraiya started. "I am-"

"Jiraiya of the Sannin. Yes I know." Naruto said, cutting him off. "You, Tsunade and Orochimaru were dubbed the sannin for your teamwork after being defeated by Sanshouo no Hanzo."

Jiraiya was speechless. But before he could think of a retort, Naruto started talking again.

"Let's get this over with. You are here to evaluate my seal work but first, I am going to evaluate yours to see if you are fit to evaluate mine." Naruto said in a tone that didn't leave any room for arguments. "You have an hour to make two seals, the first will incapacitate anyone standing on it, and the second seal is to be applied onto a person that will nullify the effects of the first seal. I'm going to get something to eat. When I get back I expect you to be finished." With that, Naruto walked out the door.

Jiraiya was shocked that a teen was ordering him around. He looked towards Sarutobi who only shrugged, "You better get started, wouldn't want to disappoint him now would you?" Jiraiya hung his head in defeat and started to work on the seal while grumbling about things too quiet to hear.

_**An hour later**_

The door opened in the Hokage's office. Sarutobi could be seen sitting in his chair reading a certain book and giggling perversely while Jiraiya was right behind him, reading over his shoulder. Clearing his throat, Naruto made his presence known.

"Jiraiya-san, did you make the seals?" Sarutobi's and Jiraiya's head both shot up at the voice of Naruto. Sarutobi quickly opened his drawer, put his book in and slammed it close. Jiraiya however, had a huge grin on his face showing his pride in his own works. Naruto merely raised his eyebrow, expecting an answer.

After almost a minute of silence, Jiraiya finally got the message and showed Naruto his seal. "Well? How do ya like it gaki? Of course, I don't expect you to understand what is written on this paper, but this should show you my awesome skills in seals right?" Jiraiya finished with a wide grin, expecting admiration, but what he got was completely unexpected to him.

"You fail." Naruto said, wiping Jiraiya's smug smile off of his face. "You are not qualified to evaluate my skills in fuinjutsu."

Jiraiya spluttered. "W-what do you mean I'm not qualified? Both seals do their job!"

"While that may be true, you have made them too complicated."

Jiraiya chuckled while shaking his head. "I can't believe I'm arguing with a teen."

Naruto glared at Jiraiya. "I am not just a teen. I have finished all one hundred levels in the Uzumaki clan's fuinjutsu. I have surpassed my grandfather's skill in fuinjutsu. Do not underestimate me."

"Gaki, just because you have finished all one hundred levels does not mean anything if you can't apply it all. I bet your teacher just went easy on you and let you pass."

Naruto sighed. "Jiraiya-san. How would you rate my mother's skill in fuinjutsu?"

Jiraiya's hand went to his chin and got into a thoughtful pose. "Hmm...She would probably be around my level, if not a bit better. After all, she did teach your father who had surpassed me in fuinjutsu."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I have greatly overestimated your skills in fuinjutsu then."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. "Why do you even need to know your mother's level in fuinjutsu anyways?"

"Because, it would give you a sense of what level she was at and what level I am. Before leaving Uzushio, my mother had officialy completed only thirty-seven levels of our hundred level course. Now when she left, I assume she took some scrolls with her, and if she taught herself while in Konoha, then I estimate her skills would be around a level forty seal master. Using this information, I would have approximately sixty levels over you Jiraiya-san."

Jiraiya huffed. "Levels don't mean anything gaki."

Naruto stayed silent for a while. "The theory taught at higher levels is much more advanced than what you currently know. We teach a much older and primitive style of sealing. Seals and arrays date before the creation of modern fuinjutsu. Back then, you could turn one substance into another through the usage of a seal. We take what people used to know a few thousand years ago and apply it to our seals today." **(5)**

Throughout the whole conversation, Jiraiya's eyes widened little by little and his jaws dropped lower and lower.

"Anyways, it was nice meeting you Jiraiya-san. Good day Hokage-sama." Naruto bowed and left the room.

Jiraiya stood there, mouth still gaping at the information that he was told. _'I never knew seals could be applied in such a way!'_ Shaking himself out of his shock, he turned towards Sarutobi who seemed amused at what just happened. Sarutobi shrugged and pulled out his book again to continue where he left off.

_**Few days later**_

_**Training Ground 44**_

Naruto and Anko were having a discussion in the forest about how to break an enemy's willpower and mind. Through the middle of the discussion, an ANBU showed up.

"Mitarashi-san, Uzumaki-san, Hokage-sama requires your presence immediately." The ANBU said, still in his crouching position.

"Understood, we'll be right there." Naruto replied.

The three puffs of smoke signified their use of a **Shunshin**.

_**Hokage's Office**_

Naruto, Anko and the ANBU all appeared in the Hokage's office. The ANBU bowed, then used another **Shunshin**.

"Anko-san, Naruto-kun, I have news from Hatake Kakashi of Team Seven." Sarutobi said.

Naruto raised his eyebrow, "What does this have to do with us?" he asked. Anko nodded as well.

"They have been sent on a C-ranked mission, however on the way they have been ambushed by two C-ranked nuke nin. Normally this would not prove to be much of a problem with Kakashi on the team, however, this is an escort mission and Kakashi is expecting some heavier resistance later on. This is where you come in."

Naruto raised his hands in a 'stop right there' gesture. "Wait a second, the client paid for a C-rank, but they were attacked by shinobi correct?" Sarutobi nodded. "Did the client pay for protection against shinobi?"

"No." Sarutobi said while shaking his head.

"Then why did they continue the mission?" Anko decided to butt in this time.

Sarutobi sighed. "Originally, Kakashi wanted to abandon the mission however, Uchiha Sasuke insisted that they continue. Of course you know what happens when he says go. Sakura follows, and since Sai is from Danzo's Root faction, they would outvote Kakashi three to one."

"They had a vote?" Anko shouted. "As their superior officer he has the highest authority! Why vote for the outcome?"

Sarutobi rubbed his forehead. "It doesn't matter anymore, the fact is they have gone ahead and are in need of back up and you're it. Do you accept?"

Naruto and Anko looked at each other. Naruto shrugged. "Sure old man. Just let us get prepared and we'll set off right away."

_**TBC**_

**A Tokubetsu Jonin is only Jonin level in their specialized area.**

**The theory behind Genjutsu is that one needs to be able to see the target. Then they establish a link to the target's brain using chakra. Then the chakra invades the brain and makes the target hallucinate. There are two ways to dispel genjutsu. First way is to, of course, cause pain so that the pain will overpower the genjutsu, however some genjutsu already cause the target to feel pain so this may be useless. Second way is to stop the circulation of chakra and then send out a pulse LARGER than the amount of foreign chakra applied. **

**The Uzumaki clan uniform without their armour.**

**Yes that is the right way to spell Skilful. Although it could also be Skillful.**

**Yes. Alchemy. I decided that since he is going to be using fuinjutsu anyways, might as well let him use alchemy as well because you also need to draw arrays and such.**

**Please Review! I need to know what I did bad and what I did good! **

**Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter is wave mission. Naruto meets Zabuza!**

**REVIEW**

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	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Another chapter for you guys! I know a lot of you have been asking for it and here it is! Just one thing I need to ask you guys. I have been getting requests to add a female Kyubi to the harem...but I'm not so sure. I feel like doing only Anko and Mei but there are many that want a as well. What should I do? Should I add it/her? Or should I stick to my current pairing? Leave a comment/review on what you want! (Note: DO NOT leave comment on whether to add or not if chapter 7 is out! By then I'll have already figured it out!)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Kishimoto does.**

_**Nami no Kuni**_

_**On the Road to Nami no Kuni**_

Naruto and Anko dashed through the trees in a straight line towards wave country. Seeing that the sun was setting, Naruto motioned to Anko to stop. They landed in a sizable clearing in the forest.

"Anko-san, it's getting late, we are still approximately a day, maybe half a day behind Kakashi-san's squad. We should set up camp for the night and save our energy to catch up to them tomorrow." Naruto said. Anko nodded in agreement.

"Good thinking." Anko said. "You set up a perimeter, and I'll get the tents up." Naruto nodded and walked off to set up some seals while Anko set up the tents.

After fifteen minutes or so, Naruto walked back into the clearing, seeing Anko sitting by the fire.

"You got them seals up gaki?" Anko asked and grinned when he saw Naruto's twitch of annoyance.

"I told you to stop calling me gaki...and yes, I did get the seals set up." Naruto said in an annoyed tone.

"You sure we're safe in this barrier? I don't like being surprised, especially during my sleepy time you know." Anko stared right at Naruto, who only stared back.

"...yes...we are safe inside this perimeter. The seals form a layer of genjutsu, making us invisible, and even if they got through, there is still a barrier that keeps them outside." Naruto said, still staring back into Anko's eyes.

Anko kept staring for a few seconds until she finally relented. "Alright, I'll believe you. I'm gonna turn in for the night now." She said, walking towards her tent. Suddenly, she turned around. "Don't you dare try anything or I'll cut your balls off, got it?"

Naruto sighed, "We've been over this many times already Anko-san. I won't try anything...I promise." Naruto said solemnly.

Anko seemed to accept this and got into her tent. Naruto killed the flames and got into his tent, turning for the night.

A sound pulled Naruto from his sleep. Getting up, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. After kick-starting his brain, he listened carefully to the sounds. _'Sounds like crying...Anko?'_ Naruto's eyes widened, thinking someone got past his defense, he quickly got out of his tent and surveyed the area. Finding nothing out of place and the area clear, he rushed to Anko's tent.

Opening the flap to Anko's tent, he peered inside, seeing Anko curled into a ball and crying, mumbling incoherently. _'Still asleep...Nightmares.'_ Naruto sighed as he walked in. Crouching down beside Anko's form, he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Anko-san, wake up." He said while shaking. Seeing that she was still asleep, he shook harder. "Anko! Wake up!"

In a flurry of movement, Naruto was pinned under Anko with a kunai against his neck and testicles.

"I told you if you tried anything I would neuter you." She said in a harsh tone, tears still trailing down her cheeks. Naruto gave a sad smile and brought both his hands up to her face, wiping the tears away. Anko was stunned. She blinked, not understanding what had just happened. At first, she was just having some bad dreams, and then she was rudely woken by her student, who she thought was going to do something to her while she was still asleep. She didn't even notice the tears when she awoke.

"It's okay Anko-san, just a bad dream." Naruto said while pulling her head down into his chest, giving her a hug, a sign, showing that he is here for her. Anko, whose tears are flowing again, dropped her kunai and clutched onto Naruto, hugging back with all her might. Naruto winced at her grip, but ignored it. Rubbing and patting her back, Naruto was rocking Anko back and forth, like a parent would do to a child. "Anko," Naruto said in a soft but very serious tone, "I'm here for you. In the past few months, we have become great friends right?" Naruto asked while Anko nodded, her crying stopped but her body is shook once in a while **(1)**. "Well then, I beg of you Anko, please tell me what's burdening you." Anko seemed unsure. "This is what friends are for Anko, we tell each other what's on our minds and what's bothering us. We, as in your friends, want to help you, but if we don't know what's wrong, then we can't do anything but worry about you Anko." Naruto said, pulling back to look straight into her eyes. "Tell me what's bothering you."

Anko nodded while taking a shaky breath in and exhaling. Taking another, smaller breath, she began her story of how she was betrayed by her own teacher, and then branded as a traitor and shunned by the people of Konoha.

"My teacher, Orochimaru, ran away from Konoha on charges of murder and human experimentation. Of course, at the time I didn't believe it and because I was young, I decided to follow him." Anko said softly, too tired to cry anymore. "After that...my...my mind suppressed the memories. All I know is that Orochimaru branded me with one of his curse seals before he dumped me in some shitty town, leaving me to die. If it wasn't for the Hokage, I would..." She stopped her sentence when Naruto shushed her.

"It's okay now. Don't think about things like that, it's not healthy." Naruto said as he hugged her tighter. Anko nodded, her face buried in his chest. She was happy that someone apart from Kurenai would listen to her troubles and help her. "Anko," Naruto called out, making Anko look at him. "I don't know how to put this...but...may I see the curse seal?" Anko looked down, contemplating. Slowly and somewhat reluctantly, she nodded and turned around to show him the mark on her neck. Naruto traced the outlines of the seal and frowned, noticing that its true form was hidden, he grimaced. "Anko, I'm being very serious right now. If you could, just for a little while, activate the seal for me so that I may see the true form of the seal." Anko's eyes widened in fear and she started shaking. Naruto noticed this and quickly embraced her from behind.

"I'm scared, what if I lose control?" Anko asked timidly.

Naruto smiled at her. "Don't worry, I'm here. Plus, I only need you to activate it for a minute at most so that I can see the full seal." Naruto reassured. Anko gave a shaky nod.

Immediately after activating the seal, Anko screamed in pain. She felt like her blood was on fire with the vile chakra flowing through her. Naruto quickly examined on how the seal expanded and worked. As soon as he saw the seal, his face morphed into a scowl. Quickly tapping Anko, telling her to deactivate it, she did and collapsed, unconscious.

Naruto sighed. "Might as well let her sleep." He said as he carried her to her mattress on the ground. As Naruto gently laid her down, Anko clutched onto him tighter, not letting go. Naruto raised an eyebrow before trying to pry her hands off. Anko only grabbed onto him even tighter. Dropping his head and sighing in defeat, Naruto got onto the mattress and covered himself and Anko with the blanket. _'I hope she doesn't kill me in the morning.'_ That was the last thought that ran through his head.

Naruto woke with a feeling that his chest was being compressed. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw Anko lying and sleeping peacefully on top of him with her head on his chest. Naruto smiled at the peaceful look on her face, the drool dripping onto his shirt, Naruto groaned.

Anko stirred, opening her eyes and blinking. Whatever she was sleeping on, it was comfortable, much more comfortable than the mattress. Getting up to a sitting position, unknowingly straddling Naruto, she rubbed her eyes. Looking down, she saw Naruto staring right at her with an admiring smile. Blinking once, twice, she noticed the position they were in and blushed. First in embarrassment, then her face turned to anger.

"What do you think you're doing in my bed?" Anko asked, her voice low and very menacing. Naruto gulped.

"Y-you don't remember what h-happened last n-night?" Naruto asked back, scared at what she might do, not knowing what that sounded like.

If possible, Anko got even redder. "**SOMETHING HAPPENED?**"

"YES!" Naruto shouted, scared for his life now. "You don't remember me waking you up in the middle of the night? Comforting you while giving you company?"

Anko popped her knuckles and punched Naruto hard on the head. "BAKA! You have no idea what that sounds like!"

"OW! What do you mean?" Naruto asked while rubbing his head.

"THINK ABOUT IT!" And Naruto did, before his eyes widened.

"T-that's not what I meant! You know what I meant by saying those things!"

Anko calmed down a bit and nodded while Naruto just breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, Naruto sat up, with Anko still in his lap and he wrapped her in a hug.

"I've seen the full seal and was able to memorise it. I swear I will find a way to at least make it so that you won't have to worry about the seal activating during emotional turmoil." Naruto said.

"Thanks Naruto-kun." Anko said as she hugged Naruto back.

"Good, now let's pack up and hit the road."

_**Wave Country **_

As Naruto and Anko dashed through the mist, they could hear sounds of fighting ahead. Looking at each other and nodding, they sped on.

_**Road by the Bridge**_

The genin were having trouble against the Zabuza water clones. Well, Sasuke was. Sakura was sitting back guarding Tazuna while Sai was keeping his true skills hidden.

Zabuza and Kakashi were both standing on the water, using multiple water jutsu against each other.

"**Suiton: Suiryudan**" Both Kakashi and Zabuza said at the same time, launching two equally sized dragons made of water at each other, colliding in the air. A shower of water rained down on them both. Zabuza dashed forward and brought Kubikiri Bocho down on Kakashi who stopped the massive force with his kunai. He winced as his muscles screamed under the strain of Zabuza's heavier weapon and greater physical strength. As Zabuza kept applying force to the cleaver, Kakashi's kunai began to crack under the power. Seeing this, Zabuza went to kick Kakashi when suddenly a kunai whizzed in between the two causing them to jump apart and look at where the kunai originated. A hooded, masked individual stood on the top of a tree.

"Momochi Zabuza, I must ask you to refrain from further assaulting this Konoha squad." The man said in a tone full of authority. "Else I might have to resort to drastic measures." He said while showing his sword.

Zabuza merely raised an eyebrow. "You would challenge me, a swordsman of the mist to a kenjutsu battle? I must warn you, very few outside the Seven Swordsmen could fight on par with any of us."

"I am confident in my skills."

Zabuza grinned and turned to Kakashi. "Looks like your lucky day, I got someone else to kill now."

Dashing towards Zabuza, the masked man unsheathed his blade and swung at Zabuza who smirked.

"First mistake, you must know your enemy first before going into a full on assault." He said while blocking a few strike. "My turn!"

Swinging his giant cleaver at the masked man, he ducked under a swing that could have taken his head off. _'Fast. Very fast.'_ Zabuza thought as he kept swinging at the man. _'But does he have power?'_ he thought as he swung in a very wide horizontal arc. The man blocked and went into a lock with Zabuza. Taking a closer look at the blade, he saw that it was a very dark grey, almost black in colour **(2)**. He felt as if he had seen the sword somewhere before, a familiarity, but could not place a finger on it. Mentally shrugging, he pushed forward and broke the struggle while swinging at the masked man a few times. Each time, the slash would look like it would hit, but the man would just move slightly and be out of the way of the giant cleaver. _'Damn it, how does he dodge all my strikes? It's like fighting that stupid Sharingan all over again!'_

Off to the side, Anko showed up beside Kakashi. "Sup Cyclops!" she said in an overly cheery tone. The other genin, having taken care of the Mizu Bunshins, wondering who she was.

"Anko-san! You're our back up? But wait...isn't Naruto your student?" Kakashi said, puzzled.

"Yep! He is!" She said, still grinning and very, VERY cheerful.

Kakashi was officially afraid now. A happy Anko meant that either something REALLY REALLY REALLY good happened, such as getting free dango, or she got to torture someone...it was usually the latter. After a while, Kakashi finally processed what she said.

"Wait...if Naruto is here...and you're here with me...then Naruto is...fighting Zabuza?" Kakashi said in a hushed tone, though the genin all heard it.

Sakura was just downright shocked that a genin could fight Zabuza, who even Kakashi had trouble with, on even footing. Sasuke was insanely jealous of and lusting after Naruto's power. Sai...was wondering about the newcomer's penis size...he seemed to have a pretty big penis if his sword was any indication. Seriously, he believed that Zabuza's giant cleaver was definitely trying to compensate for something. After taking a few minutes to contemplate about Naruto's penis, he thought of how this would affect Danzo. _'Hmm...could be trouble for Danzo-sama. But then again, his penis seems to be at least on par with Danzo-sama's. Maybe I should serve him instead?'_ (Author shudders) Anyways, the general thoughts were of awe and admiration, with a lot of jealousy and hatred.

Back in the fight, Naruto had just successfully gotten past Zabuza's guard and gave him a shallow cut on his chest. Zabuza stumbled back, clutching his chest in pain, the blood seeping through the clothes.

"ARG! YOU ACTUALLY CUT ME! I-" Before he could finish what he was saying, two senbon flew into his neck. Zabuza fell to the ground in a heap. A hunter-nin appeared in the clearing, picking up the body while bowing towards Naruto.

"Thank you for weakening him for me. I have been hunting him for weeks." The nin said. Naruto nodded and shooed him away. The hunter-nin used a shunshin and with a poof, he was gone.

Naruto sheathed his blade and sealed it away. He turned towards Anko, Kakashi and the group, took his mask off and let his hood down.

Looking at Kakashi with a deadly glare, "You," he said, pointing at Kakashi, "you allowed them to overrule your decision when you are in command?"

Kakashi looked sheepish and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ehehehe..." he gave a nervous laugh. "Well...we had a little vote."

"I know you did. But that doesn't change the fact that you sent three genin into neutral territory where there was an unknown number of hostiles equal to or above C-rank. The fact that it was just one enemy shinobi doesn't make this any better, because he's an A-rank nuke-nin!" Naruto yelled at Kakashi.

Kakashi then pointed to Tazuna, "b-b-but he...talked us into it..."

Naruto looked at Tazuna, who gulped, and then back to Kakashi with a deadpan look on his face. "You mean he guilt tripped you." Kakashi slowly nodded. Naruto took a deep breath in and sighed. He turned towards Tazuna who was now shaking in fear. "You...come here." Naruto motioned.

"H-hai!" Tazuna hurried over. On the side, Anko looked at Naruto with an admiring expression, amazed that he could talk to Kakashi like that. To be honest, it turned her on.

"You know, rather than lying," Tazuna looked guilty, "you could have explained to the Hokage."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Rather than ask for an escort mission, you could have explained the situation to the Hokage. Then, he wouldn't have sent a genin squad to guard you. He could have sent a squad of Chunin, Jounin or maybe even a squad of ANBU to assassinate Gato. The pay would still have been an A-rank, but without all this hassle. You probably would have paid an appropriate amount after Wave country got back on its feet." Tazuna looked a bit shamed that he didn't think of consulting the Hokage first, but then a loud thud turned their attention elsewhere.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Sakura yelled.

Naruto turned and saw Kakashi laying face down on the ground, unconscious. Seeing that there were no visible injuries, he decided to stop their fussing.

"Oh for God sakes, it's just minor chakra exhaustion. Stop worrying over nothing." Naruto said. He turned towards Tazuna, "Could we stay at your house?" he asked in a tone that didn't leave any room for arguments.

"Y-yes!"

"Lead the way." Naruto said, picking Kakashi up and throwing him over his shoulder.

_**Tazuna's House**_

"Tsunami! I'm home!" Tazuna yelled as he opened the door and walked in.

"Father! You're back!" A woman with long blue hair ran down the stairs and wrapped Tazuna in a hug. After getting over the excitement, she looked at the group of shinobi. "Uhm...father, who are they?"

Tazuna grinned and gestured to the group of shinobi. "They are the ones who I have hired to guard me."

"Yes, when you could have just hired assassins to kill Gato, but enough of that. Ma'am, I am Uzumaki Naruto," he gave a small bow, "this is my sensei," Anko gave a grin and waved. "Mitarashi Anko, and this sack of potatoes on my shoulder is Hatake Kakashi. The three behind us are Kakashi's genin squad, Team 7. Anko and I have been sent as back up. Luckily we caught up before anything bad could happen. Kakashi here is suffering from a minor case of chakra exhaustion. If you could lead me to a spare bed, we would be in your debt."

Tsunami was a bit shocked, but quickly nodded. "This way." She led Naruto up the stairs and into a spare room. After a few minutes, Tsunami came down and went into the kitchen to prepare food for the guests. Naruto came down and sat on the couch. The three genin looked at him expectantly while Anko was off to the side chatting with Tsunami and playing with her kunai.

Naruto looked around and saw the three genin staring at him. He raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Sakura spoke first, "Is Kakashi-sensei going to be okay?" Naruto stared at her for a few seconds, making her nervous under his intense stare.

"He will be fine, but what you guys did was completely reckless." Naruto said in a scolding tone.

Sakura looked down while Sasuke only grunted. Sai did not show any emotion at all. Turning to Sai, Naruto continued. "You are the second most skilled and experienced on this team. You should have been the voice of reason, keeping them from continuing from this almost suicidal mission." Sai tilted his head in mock confusion. Naruto sighed, "You were trained by Shimura-san to be a part of Ne, and I know that the mission comes before your life, but losing a team of genin and possibly one of our best jonin would be bad for Konoha's image. If we had lost him, sure we completed the objective, but at what cost?"

Sai' eyes widened at this, understanding the gravity of his choices.

"Shinobi like Kakashi-san are not replaceable...And you Haruno-san." She looked up at Naruto. "Must I truly resort to violence to get rid of your fan-girl tendencies?" She shook her head vigorously. Naruto sighed, "Just because Sasuke wants to do something does not make it the best or even the right choice. Start to make your own choices; I'm sure you don't want the blood of comrades on your hands because of selfishness."

Sakura nodded, head lowered in shame. Naruto then turned to the third member of Team 7, his eyes cold as ice. "Uchiha-san, your arrogance and overconfidence in your abilities almost caused the death of your whole squad. You voted to continue on this mission to test your abilities even though you are clearly not ready for such a high-ranked mission. Your actions have shamed your village, your Kage and ultimately, your daimyo." Sakura and Sai were stunned while Sasuke stood speechless. "Your complete disregard for the well-being of your teammates will be noted and put into consideration when assigning missions."

At this, Sasuke got angry, "You don't have the power to do this to me!"

"I don't, but Hokage-sama does. Do well to remember that." Naruto said in a firm tone which got Sasuke even more riled up. Sasuke's hand twitched towards his kunai pouch. Before his fingers could even touch the pouch, Anko came up behind him with a kunai to his neck.

"You know, the carotid artery is a very large artery. It supplies all the blood that goes to your head and brain. A little nick and your blood would be spraying out because of the high pressure. A larger cut and your blood would be pouring like a fountain. If I sever it...well your blood would just be pooling beneath your corpse. Wouldn't want that to happen now would ya?" Anko said, smiling a very happy and cheerful smile which served to freak Sasuke out even more.

Before she could scare Sasuke further, Tsunami called out from the kitchen. "Dinner is ready!" As soon as she said that, Anko let go of Sasuke and skipped into the kitchen. Naruto followed her into the kitchen to get his meal as well as Kakashi's, leaving the three genin in the living room. Sakura snapped out of her daze and walked on into the kitchen in deep thought. Sai followed her, leaving a very angry Sasuke behind.

_**Kakashi's Room**_

Opening the door, Naruto walked in with a tray of food. Seeing that he was asleep, Naruto shook him awake.

"Kakashi-san, I brought your food." He said, placing the tray beside Kakashi's bed.

Kakashi eye smiled. "Thanks Naruto-kun." He sat up and picked up the bowl of rice and chopsticks. "I heard you chewing out my students."

Naruto looked at Kakashi, analyzing what he meant and gauging what he would say next.

"It's good that you came along when you did. You taught a very valuable lesson today. Though I'm sure the Uchiha won't be learning it anytime soon. If anything it'll just make him even more defiant."

Naruto snorted. "He will learn one day, be it through words or the hard way of actually losing your teammates and maybe an eye in battle."

Nodding in agreement, Kakashi spoke again. "That may be true, but you have to remember that he lost his whole clan in one night. Not much would affect him now."

Naruto grew silent at this. "I still can't believe that Itachi would do something like this...It just doesn't feel normal."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked, surprised.

"Although I only knew Itachi for a little while, he was never mean to me and was always kind." Naruto said in a fond tone, "He had a respect for all life and treated everyone equally. He didn't have the arrogance that seemed prevalent in most other Uchiha." He looked down, brows furrowed, deep in thought. "Just feeling some foul play here." Naruto shrugged.

Kakashi looked down into his bowl, "So...how are your missions coming along?" he asked, changing topics.

"Good, by the time the Chunin exams start, I should have already completed a few missions as Chunin." Naruto replied; glad that the conversation changed course. "Anyway, I'm going to go down and have my own supper. When you're done eating, just leave the tray here; I'll come up and get it. You need to rest."

_**Later**_

Kakashi walked down the stairs with the tray. Naruto looked at him and frowned.

"I told you I would go up and get it. You didn't need to bring it down."

Kakashi waved him off. "Don't worry about it. Plus, I've got some news for everyone."

"What is it Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi looked around the room. "I think Zabuza is still alive." This caused an uproar.

"What do you mean he's still alive? We saw the Oinin kill him." Sasuke interjected.

"I was getting to that." Kakashi placated, trying to calm everyone down. Naruto, Kakashi and Anko were the only ones who were calm. Kakashi and Anko were confident in their combined skill, while Naruto knew Zabuza personally. Sai was...well...Sai.

"Hunter-nins are supposed to dispose of the body at the place of the target's death. They bring something that represents the target, usually a head, to the Mizukage to prove their kill **(3).**" He paused to take a breath. "I believe that the one we saw was not a hunter at all. Or rather, he was aiding Zabuza."

The room fell into a hush after that last sentence. Tazuna feared for his life and Tsunami feared for her father's. Sakura was scared that the man had accomplices. The next time they met, they would also have to fight the Oinin as well. Sai was unconcerned as usual, while Sasuke was planning on fighting the hunter to prove his strength; completely forgetting what Naruto said earlier.

_**Next Day**_

Kakashi walked down the stairs with two crutches holding him up.

"Good morning everyone." Kakashi said, making the genin of Team 7 look at him.

"Kakashi-sensei! You're up!" Sakura yelled out, happy that her sensei was okay.

He eye smiled. "Yes I am Sakura-kun. Now, I need you all to follow me." He said as he walked out the door, three genin in tow.

_**Forest's Edge**_

Kakashi stopped near the tree line. He saw Naruto sitting nearby, writing in his notepad. Turning to his genin, he introduced them to the tree walking exercise.

"Today, you will be learning to climb trees. This will help with your chakra control and maybe even enlarge your chakra capacity. As you all know, chakra is needed for ninjutsu and many other techniques in a shinobi's arsenal. Proper usage of chakra will ensure your survival." Kakashi explained.

"Uhm...Kakashi-sensei, that's good and all but how will climbing trees help with chakra control?" Sakura asked. Sasuke was wondering the same thing but was not vocal about it. Sai was concentrating on his paintings, having already learned this exercise.

"Good question. The point is to climb trees without your hands, using only your feet." Kakashi said. This made Sakura and Sasuke confused. "Observe," he said as he channelled chakra to his feet and walked up the tree. Sakura looked in wonder and Sasuke held back showing any emotions.

"The point is to channel chakra to your feet, making it stick to the surface you are walking on. You try." He said, throwing three kunai to their feet. "Use those to mark your progress, I suggest a running start."

With that, Sasuke grabbed the kunai and dashed up the tree which exploded upon contact. "Oh yeah...did I mention that too much chakra and you'll be propelled away?" Sasuke growled and tried again, this time slipping and falling off. "Too little and you won't stick." Sasuke gained a tick mark on his forehead. Turning to look at Sakura, he saw that she was already on a thick branch a few metres above him. Looking at Sai, he saw that Sai was already at the top. Growling in frustration, he got to work.

Walking away from his genin, Kakashi walked up to Naruto. "What are you working on?" he asked.

"I'm thinking of ideas on how to remove Anko's curse seal."

"Any results?"

"Not really. Can't seem to think of any viable solution. The seal itself isn't hard, just a prototype slave seal made by the early Uzumaki clan. How he got his hands on those, I'll never know. Anyways, the seal will give constant suggestions to the victim, even making them hear it in their sleep. Psychological conditioning. The seal...I can remove, the problem lies in the fact that a part of Orochimaru's chakra and soul is in the seal, corrupting her chakra system. Forcefully removing the seal would have unpredictable effects on her person."

"Then...there's no way to...purify it? Maybe using Kyubi's chakra?"

"No...Kyubi's chakra would be even more...corrupted."

"How?"

"I...don't want to get into a whole lecture and explanation on the purity of chakra and how...to...purify...it." Naruto's eyes widened. "Of course!"

Caught off guard by his outburst, Kakashi asked "Of course what?"

Naruto didn't hear him and mumbled to himself. Looking up, he seemed to come to a conclusion and stared straight at Kakashi. "Thank you Kakashi-san. You have helped me a lot." He ran off towards Tazuna's house right after he said that. Kakashi shrugged and got back to looking after his students.

_**Forest**_

After heading back to Tazuna's house he found Anko missing. Naruto then ran around the area searching for Anko. After a few hours of wandering around the forest, he finally found her.

"Why hello there Naruto-kun. Come to play with me?" Anko asked as she dropped behind Naruto and draped herself over his shoulders. Naruto smiled and turned around to face her.

"Anko-chan, I think I have the solution to your curse seal."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "How?" she asked shakily "Jiraiya-sama couldn't even remove it, so how can you?"

Naruto shook his head. "Jiraiya probably could remove it, and if he couldn't then it's because his skills are not even close to mine. The only problem with removing it is that you would die."

Anko looked down, holding her neck; her hand covering the seal. "So it's either live cursed or die free?"

"Nope."

Anko looked at Naruto with a desperate look, "Then what do you mean you have a solution?"

He smiled. "I'm not going to remove it." Anko opened her mouth to speak but Naruto stopped her. "I'm going to...improve on the seal. Essentially getting rid of Orochimaru's corrupt chakra and replacing it with my pure chakra. Then, removal is possible, but I don't know if you would want to remove it or not."

Anko's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Naruto then went to explain the purity of chakra and how it's purified.

"So after I've purged Orochimaru's soul, it will be replaced with my completely purified chakra. If you need to use it in battle, go ahead. I'll be changing this curse seal that Orochimaru gave you into a...gift and a tool from me."

Anko nodded slowly, still processing the information. "When do we start?" Naruto smiled at her enthusiasm.

"We start tomorrow Anko-chan. It's getting late tonight, we should head back."

_**That Night**_

When they were all eating dinner, Inari stood up. "Why do you guys even try?"

Naruto looked at Inari, eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you guys even bother going against Gato? He'll kill you all."

Naruto looked around the table and turned back at Inari. "We go against Gato because we are paid to do so. It is our mission. Also, I believe that when each and every one of us becomes shinobi, we acknowledge the fact that we could die at any given time."

"But there's no point to helping a country that doesn't even have money to pay you."

"We'll just collect the pay when the country is back on its feet."

Inari clenched his fists. "You talk about money and death so easily, do you even know the suffering people go through when they lose their loved ones?"

Naruto nodded, "I may not have experienced the loss of a loved one, but I have never had a person that gave me the attention and love I needed until I was six years old." Naruto said seriously. "Sasuke here has lost his whole family and clan, I'm sure he understands the pain of losing loved ones. Kakashi-san has lost his closest friends and father, I'm sure he understands your pain as well. Anko here has been betrayed by the person she trusted the most, I'm sure that the pain she felt was not too different from what you feel." He reasoned. Inari just shook his head in denial.

"What about you? Just because you haven't had someone love you doesn't mean you've felt the pain of suffering." Inari said as he pointed a finger at Naruto who only gave a sad smile.

"I know the pain of suffering very well. I lost my parents on the day I was born. Since that day, guards had to be kept on me every hour, every day until I was six. The few people who did really care for me could not do much because they were stuck in their duties. Hated by the populace, I was an outcast to society. Neglected and shunned, I was alone for the first six years of my life." At this, Kakashi looked down in regret and sadness. "My grandfather, who had no idea I even existed, came to Konoha when I was six. He brought me out to the homeland of the Uzumaki clan, taught me the ways and traditions of the clan.

"The people of Wave are merely oppressed. You are alive, the rest of your family is alive, and you grew up loved; not neglected. I'd say that's a pretty good life. If the people of Wave could work together to get rid of people like Gato, then things would be faring much better. The fear that he has instilled in you guys has...diminished your flames of youth...as one of my acquaintances would say." Kakashi cringed at the Gai reference.

Inari was crying now, both out of frustration and sadness for the people before him. He ran upstairs into his room; everyone was silent; digesting what just took place.

Naruto turned to Anko, "Anko, you should get to sleep early tonight. We have to start early tomorrow morning." She nodded and stood up, carrying her dishes to the sink. Naruto stood up and turned in for the night as well.

_**Next Day**_

Naruto and Anko left at the crack of dawn, leaving Kakashi to wonder where they went. After a bit of walking, Naruto and Anko decided on a place to get ready for the purification process.

"Okay Anko, I need you to take off your coat and your shirt."

Raising an eyebrow, she replied with a sly smirk. "You're pretty forward aren't you?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Just do it. The sooner we do this, the sooner you're free." Anko nodded and took off her shirt. Naruto unsealed his set of brushes with ink and started writing seals on her neck, re-purposing the existing seals.

"This next step will take a few hours, are you ready?" Anko gave a determined nod. "Okay, sit in a comfortable position and I'll show you how to cleanse your chakra."

"Aww... meditation?" Anko whined.

"Yes. Now concentrate."

_**Many Hours Later**_

Kakashi was happily reading his book and watching Sasuke fall off the tree many times. Sakura was just practising getting up the tree and down multiple times, building up her chakra reserves. Sai was at the top of his tree painting the landscape.

Suddenly Anko skipped out of the tree line, grinning and laughing. Kakashi noticed she was very happy so he slowly and discreetly put away his Icha Icha.

"Anko-san? What made you so happy?" Kakashi asked.

_Flashback Thirty Minutes Ago_

_Naruto was mentally tired from helping Anko purge Orochimaru's chakra. Anko was...well, refreshed to say the least. Sighing as he was finally finished his job, Naruto stood up slowly, not wanting to become lightheaded._

"_Anko-chan, we're finished." He said, getting only small mumbles in reply. "What was that?" he strained his ears to hear what she was saying. Listening intently he heard soft snores. An idea came to his mind as he had a devious smirk on his face. Bringing both his hands to the sides of Anko's abdomen he tickled her awake. "GOTCHA!"_

_Laughing uncontrollably, Anko rolled; trying to get away from her assailant. Rolling a few more times away from Naruto, she got up and tackled him to the ground. They laughed as they wrestled each other on the forest floor. Taking a moment to catch their breaths, they stared into each other's eyes. Noticing their position, with Anko straddling Naruto again, she blushed and looked down. Naruto smirked at her reaction._

"_Well, well, well. The great Anko-sama is blushing. It couldn't be because of me is it?" Naruto teased._

"_B-baka!" she punched Naruto in the chest. "Of course not! Besides, how do I know _you're_ not the one attracted to _me_?"_

_Naruto sat up, his forehead now touching hers. "What if I am? What are you going to do about it?" he asked, testing the waters._

_She stared into his eyes. Deep blue pools that is usually full of mischief, or cold with seriousness. Yet they showed no mischief, nor were they cold at all. Those electrifying eyes stunned her for a moment. Before she could properly think about what he said, her body reacted first. By leaning down and taking his lips in hers._

_After a minute or so of lip-locking, they broke apart staring into each other's eyes again. Anko's heart soared in joy, yet they were also filled with fear. _'What if he betrays me as well?'_ Seeing the fear in her eyes, Naruto dashed them and gave her another, shorter kiss._

"_I would never hurt you Anko-chan." She nodded, tears brimming in her eyes._

"_So what does this make us?" she asked, still somewhat fearful of the answer._

"_This makes us lovers. In the future, this maybe makes you Mrs. Uzumaki." Anko blushed but smiled at the name._

"_That has a nice ring to it. Uzumaki Anko. I like it." Naruto laughed._

"_Only when you're ready." He said as they cuddled. "Anyways, allow me to explain the details of your new-but-old not-so-cursed seal." Anko laughed at the name._

"_You are horrible with naming things."_

"_Then I'll let you name our first child." She blushed again._

"_But back to your seal. You understand how chakra is exponentially stronger as it gets purer right?" Anko nodded. "Well, rather than Orochimaru's vile chakra leeching off of yours to keep his soul alive and corrupt you; I replaced that with my pure chakra. So whenever you need a little chakra boost or just a little boost in power, you can activate the seal. Don't worry about running out, because this saps less chakra from your system than Orochimaru, and purifies it so it replenishes over time. I've yet to devise a way to take chakra from the Earth like Jiraya-sama can, but I'm sure there's a way."_

_Anko rubbed the place where the seal is. "Can I see it?" Naruto smiled and unsealed two mirrors from his cloak. Putting one in front of her and one behind her, he reflected the image from one mirror to the other. The seal had a huge similarity with the Uzumaki clan symbol. The swirl in the middle and a ring surrounded it, made of unrecognizable characters to her._

"_Well? Much better looking than the curse seal right?" Anko nodded happily, glad that not a bit of the seal had any similarities with the original, thus cutting off all ties with Orochimaru...all but one. She still needed him to die._

_Naruto leaned down and kissed the seal, embracing her from behind. "I promise I will help you kill Orochimaru."_

"_Thanks Naru-kun." Anko smiled. Naruto raised his eyebrow at the nickname. "What? I like it." Naruto shrugged._

"_Whatever makes you happy, love."_

_Flashback End_

Anko laughed joyously. "Something really good happened!" she yelled and just kept walking.

Kakashi stared strangely at her. "Uh...okay..." Turning he saw Naruto come out of the tree line as well. "Naruto-kun, do you know what's making Anko so...energetic? I mean more than she normally is."

Naruto smirked. "Yes. Yes I do." Was all he said before he walked off as well.

Kakashi stared at the backs of Anko and Naruto, not understanding what just happened.

_**Few Days Later**_

"Hey open up!" one man shouted from outside the house.

Tsunami ran to answer the door. Big mistake, they unsheathed their katana and pointed it at her throat.

"Where's the bridge builder? Hmm?" the other man asked.

"Mom!" Inari yelled as he ran in front of his mom brandishing a kitchen knife.

"Little squirt wants to play hero eh? Well then I gladly oblige!" the man brought his sword up to swing it down. Inari closed his eyes while Tsunami embraced him from behind, trying to protect him.

After a few moments, Inari opened his eyes to see Naruto standing where the men were. Naruto smiled at the boy. "You did good protecting your mom kid. Next time, don't close your eyes and don't freeze okay?" Inari nodded dumbly.

Naruto turned and looked to the direction of the bridge, wondering if the battle had already started.

**You know that weird reflex that you get after you cry hard enough. **

**Imagine the high frequency blade that Raiden uses in MGS: Rising. I know the game isn't out yet, but the trailer is.**

**Only Kirigakure has Hunter-nin. No other village has this branch of ANBU.**

**That's that folks! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Remember to review and give constructive criticism!**

**I**

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	7. Chapter 7

**New chapter! Yay! I know many of you have been waiting for a while, and I apologize, but I was on vacation in Cali! Whoo! How is everyone's summer going so far? I hope it's been good, because I know mine is. Really excited about starting University next month! UBC HERE I COME!**

**Anyways, without further ado, here's the disclaimer and chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other ideas I may have pulled from other authors. Do enjoy my adaptation of Naruto. **

_**Chapter 7 – Revenge of the Sandaime**_

_**Wave Country**_

_**Bridge**_

Coming upon the bridge, Naruto looked at the thick mist that covered the area and sighed in exasperation. _'You use that skill way too much Zabuza...'_ Looking over to his right, he saw the genin of team seven engage in a fight against Haku. Turning his head back, he saw Zabuza and Kakashi fighting it out while Anko stood back, watching the fight and ready to jump in at a moment's notice.

Zabuza slashed at Kakashi who dodged and ducked the large hunk of metal. Jumping back, he started to run through hand seals. Zabuza saw this and surged towards Kakashi, both hands on Kubikiri Bocho, and swung horizontally, breaking Kakashi's concentration and causing him to further retreat.

"Give it up Copy-nin Kakashi, you are out of your element. This mist, the abundance of water and your lack of a real weapon will push me to victory!" Zabuza proclaimed as he rushed forward again.

Kakashi grimaced, he knew Zabuza was right. The environment was definitely not in his favour, but he did have numbers. Jumping back a few more times from the large blade, he pulled out a few kunai and threw them at Zabuza.

Bringing up his blade to block the kunai, Zabuza laughed. "Is that all you can do now that you are at a disadvantage?" Lifting Kubikiri Bocho above his head, he brought it down on Kakashi who could only attempt to block. Topping the giant blade, Kakashi felt his arms tremble under the weight and power. _'Dammit, I can't beat him in terms of power!'_

'**Sen'eijashu!**'

A multitude of snakes came out from behind Kakashi and flew forward to bite Zabuza. Jumping a few metres back, Zabuza narrowed his eyes. Being wary of his surroundings, Zabuza asked a question. "Where's the third member of your group? The one with the mask and hood?"

"He's probably on his way here at the moment." Kakashi answered, "You are outnumbered and outmatched, don't push this any further." Zabuza smirked.

"If he comes, then I wouldn't be outnumbered anymore."

"What do you mean?" Anko questioned.

"The way he uses his sword shows that he's a powerful swordsman. He has honour, and should he fight, it would be in single combat."

Kakashi decided to interject. "Even if he does decide to fight you in single combat and you manage to defeat him; you would be tired and we would still be here."

Zabuza grinned widely. "It doesn't matter whether I die or not. As long as I get to test my skills, I'm satisfied."

"Ask and it shall be given to you." A voice called out through the mist. Zabuza grinned in glee as he recognized the voice.

"Finally, you're here."

"Indeed I am." Naruto answered, donned in cloak and mask, sword in hand. He looked at Kakashi and Anko, "Don't interfere."

"But Na-"

"Kakashi, do you not trust my skills?" Naruto stared at Kakashi from behind his mask, his voice showed no emotion.

"I...well..." Kakashi found it hard to respond to Naruto's question.

"I wish to test my skills against one of the famed swordsman. Don't deny me that privilege." Kakashi reluctantly agreed.

"Fine. BUT, should I see that anything is about to go wrong, we WILL interfere." Anko said with no room for arguement.

Naruto smirked, "Fine with me."

Bringing the sword up horizontally to head level, he slowly unsheathed it, showing its matte black blade. Sealing the sheath back into his cloak, Naruto started a slow jog at Zabuza. Bringing his sword to the left side of this body, he swung the sword diagonally up as soon as he was in range. Zabuza jumped back and dodged the swipe. Bringing his own weapon up over his head, he quickly shifted his stance in order to block another strike from Naruto.

"You're pretty fast." Zabuza commented. Naruto said nothing and just kept slashing away at Zabuza. Grunting as he blocked another strike from Naruto, he pushed Naruto back. "That sword, it seems vaguely familiar...have we fought before?" Zabuza asked.

Naruto tilted his head to the side, as if in thought. _'Come on dumbass...I showed it to you before...'_"Possibly." Naruto said as he kept his attacks up.

Attack, attack, dodge, parry, weave and attack again. The two warriors fell into a rhythm as they parried and dodged each other's strikes.

Deciding to pressure Zabuza even more in hopes of causing him to make a mistake, Naruto sped up his strikes. Sending a thrust, Zabuza easily dodged to the side and countered with his own downward slash. Naruto sidestepped, the cleaver missing by centimetres. Getting back into the fight, they both raised their weapons and brought it down.

'CLANG!'

The sound of metal on metal resounded across the bridge. Holding each other in a deadlock, they pushed harder to gain dominance. Zabuza glared into the eyeholes of Naruto's mask, while Naruto stared back. Putting more strength into the deadlock, they pushed each other back. The two fighters stood thirty metres apart, staring at each other.

On the sidelines, Kakashi and Anko watched with baited breath. Unsure of the outcome, they stood there, muscles tensed and ready to pounce. Anko trusted in her student's, now boyfriend, skills. Yet some part of her was still insecure and fretting over the outcome of the battle.

Kakashi however, was calm yet worried. He knew the limitations of Naruto's power in terms of ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu. He knew that Naruto was proficient in fuinjutsu and kenjutsu, but that was it. All Uzuki Yugao told him was that he was very skilled in kenjutsu. Naruto's skills in fuinjutsu is also relatively unknown. Other than the fact that he had mastered Uzumaki Fuinjutsu, and some explosive seals he saw Naruto use, he knew next to nothing. Kakashi sighed, _'This is so frustrating.'_

The sound of metal hitting metal broke them from their thoughts. A show of sparks and the screeching of the metal grinding against each other and the two warriors separated again.

Zabuza ran through a series of hand seals, "**Kirigakure no Jutsu**." Mist started to cover the area and got thicker and thicker. Naruto stood in the centre, senses on high alert. Quickly turning around, he brought his sword up and blocked an attack, but as quickly as Zabuza came, he vanished.

Kakashi and Anko were getting really worried now. Unable to see their enemy and ally, and unable to help Naruto, they stood on guard in case Zabuza decided to come for them.

"Hehehe, you work well under pressure." Zabuza said, his voice coming from all around Naruto.

After blocking many more attacks from Zabuza, Naruto took a deep breath in and calmed himself down. Closing his eyes, he focused all around him, trying to locate Zabuza.

He found him as Zabuza was charging from behind. Turning around, Naruto surged forward as well; however in midstride, a pain shot through his right leg. He tripped and grunted in pain. Quickly rolling out of the way of Zabuza's cleaver, he looked down to survey the damage. Spotting a piece of ice sticking out from his leg, he pulled it out. _'A senbon? ...must be from the genins' fight with Haku. Fucking stray senbons.'_ Hearing a sound, he quickly looked up to see Zabuza bearing down on him. His eyes widening in surprise as he instinctually brought his sword up to defend. At the same time, he unconsciously put channelled chakra into the sword, causing the blade to glow white. As soon as Kubikiri Bocho made contact with Naruto's sword, a huge chunk of the top came off.

Zabuza's eyes widening in shock. _'It cut through the Kubikiri Bocho?'_ Zabuza could not believe what had just happened. Inspecting his bisected sword and Naruto's sword, his eyes narrowed. Letting go of his jutsu, he addressed Naruto.

"Uzumaki." Zabuza said. Kakashi and Anko looked around as the mist cleared, and were confused when Zabuza said Naruto's surname. "You should have just told me it was you Naruto..."

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously, "Uhm...sorry?" he said as he removed his mask, showing the nervous smile on his face.

"BAKA!" Zabuza yelled and bonked Naruto on the head.

"Ow!" Naruto yelped out in pain as he rubbed his head. Zabuza gripped Naruto in a headlock and gave him a noogie.

Anko and Kakashi stared wide eyed with their jaws on the ground. Deciding to find out what's going on, they walked over to the two swordsmen. "Um...Naruto...w-what's going on?"

Zabuza answered him instead, "I've helped teach Naruto what he knows about kenjutsu. Up until a little over a year ago, we've trained intensively using his Kage Bunshins. Then he left in order to find materials and make a sword that fits him perfectly...Tch. the only reason I stopped was because I finally recognized the sword." Zabuza said as he looked at what was left of his Kubikiri Bocho. "And it only cost me my weapon." He finished with a glare at Naruto. "Haku!" Zabuza called out, and not two seconds later, Haku landed beside Zabuza, kneeling.

"You called Zabuza-sama?" Haku said whil still kneeling.

"Yeah, we're going to call off the job."

Haku looked up at Zabuza questioningly, "Why?"

All Zabuza did was point his thumb towards Naruto. Looking in the direction of the thumb, Haku was surprised to see Naruto grinning at him.

"Yo! How are ya Haku?"

Haku smiled back at his friend. "One moment please." He said as he let go of his ice mirrors technique. The genin were confused as to what happened and looked around for their assailant. Turning back to Naruto, he started describing their situation. "I'm doing very well, we are currently trying to raise money, and Gato offered a very high price for our work. Please forgive us if you understand."

Naruto only waved him off. "Mah mah, don't sweat it. As long as you keep Zabuza in check, then it's all good." Haku smiled while Zabuza got pissed.

"OI! Don't treat me like a kid!" Zabuza yelled, but Naruto just ignored him.

"Have you guys done anything fun while I was away?" Naruto asked.

"OI!" Zabuza yelled louder to get their attention.

"Yeah! We've travelled to many places and have seen many things, though money is tight, and many times I have to make sure Zabuza-sama doesn't get into trouble." Haku answered.

"Don't ignore me!" Zabuza shouted as he waved his arms in between the two teens, trying to get their attention.

"You know that if you need any help at all, just come to me. I'm always ready to help out my friends."

Kakashi and Anko sweatdropped at the scene.

The genin walked towards Kakashi on the bridge. Sasuke was limping from the now melted ice senbon that were stuck into him. Sakura was trying to help him only to be shrugged off or pushed away. Sai was walking behind the two, his face devoid of any emotions.

The moment Sasuke saw Haku, he stood in an offensive stance and got ready to charge. Sakura noticed this and stepped back a little in fright, though she willed herself to stand strong, so she settled in a defensive posture. Sai, having already noticed Haku and Zabuza talking to Naruto, decided to just stand back and watch the event unfold.

"You!" Sasuke shouted, directing it at Haku. "Why did you run away? Fight me now!"

Haku turned to look at Sasuke and stared for a moment. "No." His answer only pushed Sasuke further.

"Why? Are you afraid?"

"Sasuke-kun, maybe we shouldn't be antagoni-"

"Shut up!" He yelled, interrupting Sakura. She was shocked at how he was talking to her and treated her, even as just a teammate.

Speaking in a calm voice again, Haku answered. "There is no need for us to fight anymore. Naruto-sama has made himself known and Zabuza-sama does not wish for me to fight against an ally."

Regardless of what was said, Sasuke still charged at Haku when Kakashi grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and held him back. "Stand down Sasuke. They are not a threat anymore." Sasuke growled and glared at Haku, Zabuza and Naruto. "Stand down." Kakashi repeated. After a bit more glaring, Sasuke finally relented. He crossed his arms, huffed, looked away and stepped back.

"Now Naruto, would you mind telling us how you met?" Anko asked, wanting some answers.

Just as Naruto was about to answer, a chuckling came from across the bridge.

"So the Demon of the Mist has failed and defected to the other side." A short and plump man, with brown hair walked in the middle of the bridge, followed by hundreds of thugs.**(1)** His hair flared out in all directions behind him. He wore a black suit with a light olive green shirt and a purple tie. "You're useless Zabuza. I've hired other people to finish your job for you. After we've killed you and your ninja friends, the bridge builder is next. Then we'll have some fun with the ladies." He finished with a cackle. The many men behind him were delighted to hear the news while most of the Konoha shinobi were disgusted. Except Sai, for obvious reasons, and Sasuke, because he doesn't care. Naruto raised an eyebrow and wondered what a group of thugs, even if it was a few hundred strong, could do to four Jonin level shinobi.

Haku tightened his grip in anger and disgust that they would do such a thing. Gato noticed this and decided to throw in one more comment, directed at Haku. "Are you scared bitch? Don't worry; we'll take care of you once we're done killing the men."

At this, Haku shivered and Naruto started snickering which slowly turned into full blown laughter.

"HAHAHA! A-Are you gay?" he asked Gato as he laughed.

Gato looked pissed that this punk would question his sexuality while team seven and Tazuna wondered what Naruto was talking about.

"Why the hell would you think I'm gay?" Gato yelled.

Naruto was still trying to control his laughter, "hehehe, it's just that from what you said, you totally sounded gay, not that there's anything wrong. But just to let you know. Haku is a guy."

Gato turned red in embarrassment and anger. The thugs behind him were also snickering at their boss. Sasuke and Sakura were both shocked. Sasuke looked away with a blush on his face. _'You fool! How could you think that he was a girl!'_ he yelled to himself mentally. Sakura was envious that a male looked more feminine than her. **(2)**

"AAARG!" Gato yelled in frustration. "Kill them!" as soon as the command was given, all the thugs rushed forward.

"Hey Zabuza! Let's have a little competition!" Naruto smirked.

Zabuza raised his eyebrow. "Fine...just let me get my blade back in top condition."

Naruto dashed forward and started cutting through a group of thugs. "Not going to give you the chance!" he yelled back to Zabuza as he put his mask back on.

"Tch...fucking punks." Zabuza cursed under his breath as he too charged forward.

Jumping into the centre of the large group, Zabuza started cutting people up left and right, Kubikiribocho now literally bathed in blood. As Kakashi and Anko paid more attention the sword, they could see that the blood on it seemed to be evaporating. _'Is...is the sword growing?'_ Kakashi wondered. _'I've heard that each of the seven swordsmen's blades have powers, but this is a little ridiculous.'_

As Zabuza chopped through another bandit, his sword reformed itself fully. "Ah, finally...now I just have to catch up." He said with a manic grin, unnerving many of the thugs that surrounded him. Charging into the closest enemy, he cut his way towards Naruto...or at least where he thought Naruto was, judging by all the different screams and the people crowding in the area.

Naruto dodged and ducked under many sloppy swings and retaliated with calculated precision. Sidestepping another attempt to harm him, he lopped the guy's right arm and right leg off, letting the man bleed to his death. To thugs like these, Naruto believed that they did not deserve a quick death. He preferred to let them die slowly, letting them think about what they've done wrong in the last agonizing moments of their life.

Sakura looked horrified at the bloodshed and the ruthlessness of her fellow Konoha Shinobi while Sasuke was wondering how Naruto got so powerful and was angry at the fact that someone else had this sort of power. _'I must find out how he got so powerful! And once I do, you will die Itachi...'_

After cutting through the main forces of the thugs, many had fled, only to be struck down while fleeing. The remaining stragglers looked at the two warriors in fear. Many of them wanted to run, but knew that they would not be able to get far.

Zabuza turned and addressed Naruto, "One hundred and thirty eight."

Naruto scowled, "Same." Walking up to Gato, who was sitting in a pool of his own urine, he crouched in front of him and looked into his eyes. "So...Gato, you're down to your last legs. What will you do?"

"P-please! Don't kill me!" Gato begged.

Naruto shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to live."

"No! Please! Don't kill me! I'll give you money! How much do you want?" Gato begged as he pulled out a checkbook.

"I'm not interested in your money." Naruto answered calmly as he raised his sword. "Any last words?"

"NOOO!" Gato screamed as the blade descended down on his neck, severing the head.

The genin, mainly Sakura, were against killing Gato. However, Sai's and Sasuke's reasons differed from Sakura's. Where Sakura's reasons are based on moral views, Sasuke's and Sai's reasons are for personal gain and practicality. Sakura looked to her sensei, expecting Kakashi to stop them from killing an unarmed man who had already surrendered. However, she saw that Kakashi was reading his book, not caring much at all. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes Sakura-kun?" Kakashi said as he read his book.

"Don't you care that they're going to kill him? Gato has already given up. Why not let him live? Give him another chance?" Sakura questioned. Her voice getting louder by the end of her question, trying to get the point across that there was something morally wrong. Sasuke and Sai listened in, wondering what was motivating Sakura to speak out strongly.

Kakashi looked at her and had a sombre smile, "This is what a Shinobi's life consists of, death and carnage. Many times, we have to commit necessary evils." He paused to take a deep breath in and sighed. "We can only hope for the best and do our job in making the world a better place." Sasuke inwardly scoffed while Sai remained emotionless, though one could tell he was interested.

"Then why doesn't he give an example by showing the man mercy?" Sakura reasoned, starting to get emotional.

Kakashi looked over at Naruto, Zabuza and Gato's place on the bridge. "He IS setting an example." At the questioning look of his student he continued. "He can set two kinds of examples right now. First is he lets the man go. He will be setting the example that showing mercy is good, and hopefully people follow in his footsteps to form a more peaceful world." Sakura nodded in acknowledgement, "But the thing is, once this happens, more and more criminals will think that it's okay to commit crimes as they will just be let off the hook." Sakura rolled the thought around her head, thinking about this dilemma. As she opened her mouth to speak, Kakashi put up his hand. "I know what you're going to say. Why not send ANBU or a police force after them right?" Sakura nodded. "The problem with that is it would cost too much. It's inefficient and also time consuming. Naruto is going the more practical way. By killing Gato, he is sending a message to every criminal out there; that crimes will not be tolerated and will only end in one result: death!" Sakura was shocked at the many sacrifices and the numerous evils that must be committed in order to obtain peace. She looked to the ground, contemplating on what was just revealed to her, questioning her motives for becoming a shinobi. _'Am I really fit to be a shinobi? Can I kill without remorse?'_

_**Bridge**_

_**After Completion**_

As the group of shinobi walked to the end of the bridge, Haku and Zabuza stopped, causing the group of Konoha shinobi to turn and face them.

"Well, this is it. We'll be parting ways here." Haku said as he bowed slightly.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You're going to keep raising money for another coup?"

"Yeah, I gotta raise some money for another shot."

Naruto looked pensive for a moment before seemingly coming to a conclusion, "Why don't you come back with us instead?"

"Oh? And how would we make money by going back with you guys?" Zabuza questioned.

Naruto grinned at him, "You won't. But it'll be fun. I'll have a good sparring partner and you get to fight me every day."

Zabuza stared at Naruto for almost a minute, before saying anything. "...sounds like fun." He grinned.

On the way back, everybody was making idle chatter until Anko decided to ask the question on everyone's minds. "So Naruto, how did you meet Zabuza and Haku?"

Naruto looked at Anko and all of team 7, their expectant looks causing him to sigh. "It was a few years ago when I was travelling the elemental Nations...Haku, why don't you tell them the rest"

"Eh?" before Haku could protest, Naruto ran off ahead. Haku sighed. "He's so lazy sometimes." Anko and Team 7 all sweatdropped. "As he was saying, it was a few years ago..." as Haku told the tale, Sasuke half tuned out the conversation, not really caring about what they were talking about. "...and so we agreed to train him obviously." Anko was laughing at Naruto's antics while Kakashi was shaking his head. Sai seemed very intrigued by the methods Naruto used and Sakura seemed to be in deep thought. Unfortunately, Sasuke seemed to have caught onto the last part of the tale. _'So he was trained by Zabuza huh? I'll just get him to train me and then I'll become stronger!'_

Sasuke walked up to Zabuza arrogantly, "Hey you! Train me!" everyone looked at him, confused. Kakashi hid his face in the palm of his hand.

Zabuza merely raised an eyebrow. "Why should I?"

"If you trained that idiot to become powerful, then an Uchiha would be even more powerful." Sasuke answered snobbily, head raised high, nose pointing to the sky.

Zabuza chuckled, "No."

Sasuke looked at Zabuza in shock that Zabuza would deny his demands. "And why not?" he asked, obviously agitated and angry.

"Because you're not worthy." Zabuza answered calmly. Sasuke growled. "Naruto actually threatened me for me to train him, whereas you have nothing on me."

Quickly taking out a kunai, Sasuke tried again. "Train me or I'll cut you." He demanded again.

Zabuza openly laughed. "I don't think you understand what I meant by threatened. Naruto was already more powerful than me before I taught him kenjutsu. He could have killed me easily, but he offered my life in return for lessons in kenjutsu." Sasuke tensed slightly, but before he could, Zabuza was already behind him, Kubikiribocho around Sasuke's neck. "Don't bother. I've dealt with many Genin like you before. You think your hot stuff? I killed the graduating class of a hundred with no formal shinobi training. Are you ready to die for a sliver of a chance to learn kenjutsu?"

Sasuke growled, but finally relented. Grunting, he walked off by himself. Zabuza shook his head at Sasuke's retreating form. "That kid has issues. He needs help...if he doesn't get it soon; the only help he's going to get is his head on a platter."

The rest of the trip to Konoha was uneventful and in silence. Sakura still seemed to be in deep thought, that was when Naruto walked up to her. "Haruno-san." Sakura turned to look at Naruto.

"Yes? What is it Uzumaki-san?" she asked and wondered what he needed from her.

"May I talk to you? In private?" Naruto asked, sensing no malicious intent, Sakura looked to Kakashi for permission. He shrugged and nodded, trusting that Naruto would keep her safe.

Leading Sakura away from the group, they walked under a tree. Seeing that the group was far enough, Naruto turned and faced Sakura. "What's wrong?"

Sakura tilted her head, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

Naruto tilted his head, one eyebrow raised with a look of 'do you really expect me to believe that?' on his face. "Really?" Naruto asked sceptically. Sakura nodded. "Then why do you seem to be troubled and totally out of it?" she looked down, suddenly finding interest in the ground. Naruto sighed. "It's okay to tell me Sakura. We're comrades. I'm here to help you and trust me, keeping it all in isn't healthy." Naruto just kept staring at her, waiting for her to talk. After a few seconds and a few deep breaths, Sakura looked up at Naruto.

"I'm not sure that I have the capability to become a ninja." She said meekly. "I'm not strong, my reserves aren't great, I've little to no experience and, frankly, I don't think I can end people's lives as easily as you and Zabuza or even Kakashi-sensei can."

Naruto smiled and shook his head. "Sakura. Everything that you've mentioned can be worked on and improved. You just need to take the time to work at it. And trust me when I say that taking lives isn't easy, nor should it ever be easy." The intensity in Naruto's eyes told all she needed to know. Sakura slowly nodded her head.

"How can I ever hope to compare to you or Kakashi-sensei or even Sasuke?" she asked, looking down, disappointed in her weakness.

Naruto gave another soft smile, "Don't try to compete with others. Be yourself. Kakashi is a Ninjutsu specialist, while I specialise in Fuinjutsu. Trying to match up to someone's speciality without proper teaching and training is near impossible." Naruto explained. "Find something you alone excel at and work on it until you have it mastered." Naruto said, pointing his finger at Sakura. "But don't neglect other aspects of the shinobi arts, understand?" Sakura nodded, her confidence renewed. "Good, now let's catch up with the others." He suggested as he backed off and started walking.

Sakura caught up to him and walked beside him. "Thank you Naruto-san." He only smiled in return.

_**Konohagakure**_

Upon reaching the gates, they were stopped by the gate guards.

"Kakashi-san, Anko-san. Why do you have Momochi Zabuza and an unidentified nin with you?" one of the Chunin asked.

Kakashi only eye-smiled. "Mah mah, it's okay," he said as he waved them off. "They're with us."

Seeing that they weren't going to get much more out of him, they let them pass.

Walking towards the main tower, Zabuza and Haku took a good look at their surroundings. Many shinobi were looking at them with suspicion as they walked past.

Walking into the office tower where the Hokage worked, they walked past the receptionist.

"Excuse me! You can't go in there. Hokage-sama is in a meeting right now." The receptionist called out.

Naruto, Kakashi and Anko turned and looked at her and spoke at the same time in the same tone. "Mah, it'll be fine." They said as they all made the same action of waving her off.

Everyone who saw this sweatdropped. '_They're too alike for their own good!'_ the genin all thought.

Naruto lead the group up the stairs and in front of the office doors. Opening the door, he saw a woman in her late 20s **(3)** with auburn hair in a top knot style with two bangs, one covering her right eye while the other framed her face. She also wore a dark blue dress that went to just below her knees. To her right stood what appeared to be her bodyguard. Naruto stared at her and she just stared back, eyeing him over. Looking to the Hokage, Naruto saw that the old man was blushing. He raised an eyebrow; a smirk came upon his face. Sarutobi only looked away, slightly sweating under Naruto's 'I know what you were thinking about' gaze.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" Naruto asked politely.

The lady opened her mouth to speak, "Yes, you were. But I don't mind it since you're so good looking." She said as she licked her lips.

Anko, who was standing behind Naruto, narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. "Back off hussy!" she yelled.

Everyone save for Naruto and the woman looked at Anko in shock. The two females had a glaring contest. Naruto looked between the two, deciding not to act in a move to prolong his life. Zabuza who had been standing at the back of the group moved up to see what the commotion was all about.

Upon seeing the woman, his eyes widened. "It's you!"

She looked at Zabuza before speaking, "Momochi Zabuza. Funny meeting you here."

Zabuza growled. "Terumi Mei. Leader of the rebels. Here to ask Konoha for help?"

"That's Mizukage-sama to you." The bodyguard said forcefully as he walked up to Zabuza.

"Ao. Stand down." Mei said. Staring at Zabuza a little longer, Ao backed off. "If you must know, I am here to secure a treaty with Konoha." She looked to Naruto and smiled. "And I think I know a way to solidify this treaty Hokage-dono."

Hiruzen looked intrigued. "Oh? What did you have in mind?"

"A marriage contract." Mei replied.

The sandaime looked down in thought. "Alright, I'll set up someone to be married and you pick someone from mist as well."

"Actually, I already both parties figured out. I only need your approval." She said with a sly smile towards Anko. _'I've got your man now!'_

"Oh? And who would they be?" he asked, already having an idea of who it was.

"Me..." Ao looked at her in shock. This would mean a permanent relationship between Konoha and Kiri. "And him." She said, pointing towards Naruto. Anko growled in anger, hoping that the Hokage wouldn't accept.

"Hokage-sama, Mizukage-sama. Unfortunately, I must respectfully decline." He said with a bow. "I am already interested in someone else." He stated. Mei narrowed her eyes at him while Anko stuck out her tongue at the auburn haired woman. The genin and Haku were just standing off to the side, watching as if it were a drama on television.

Hiruzen looked down in thought, and suddenly looked at Naruto with a very evil glint in his eyes accompanied by a evil smile. _'Now I can get you back for all the times you've caused me trouble and messed with me.'_

Naruto was starting to sweat after seeing that look in the Sandaime's eyes. It did not bode well for him.

"Naruto-kun." He said in a sickly sweet voice.

"H-hai Hokage-sama?" he answered shakily.

"Your goal is to eventually re-establish the Uzumaki clan correct?" he asked the teen.

"W-well..." Naruto started, not wanting to confirm the Sandaime's question.

"Now now, no need to be embarrassed of your goals. You've told me many times before that you wish to gather up all the scattered Uzumaki and rebuild, even if you had to leave Konoha and rebuild Uzu no Kuni. Now even if do end up leaving Konoha, you still currently are under my command. And because I understand that you may have interests in someone else, so I will be making this a special case for you. You will marry Terumi-san here and you will also be allowed to take one more spouse of your choice."

Naruto glared at the Sandaime. He knew that Anko and Mei would not get along, at least not yet, and would cause untold amounts of trouble for him. _'Damn you old man!'_ "I understand Hokage-sama." He said as he bowed respectfully.

Anko looked saddened, but was also determined. _'I'll make sure that the hussy won't win Naruto-kun over!'_

Mei just looked at Anko with a victorious grin.

Naruto just sighed, knowing that he had his work cut out for him.

TBC

**(1) In the first databook, they are actually referred to as thugs. Bet you didn't know that.**

**(2) Feminine. Not better looking, feminine. Beauty is based on preference.**

**(3) I've moved down Terumi's age in this fic to 27. Btw Anko is 24. Naruto is 16. Rest of Rookie 12 is 16.**

**How was the chapter? Please give me some feedback. What did you like/dislike about my writing style? Anything I could improve and work on? Also, don't just flame or be a troll and say that it sucked or give me a list on what you thought was a problem. Also help provide solutions. Constructive criticism is greatly welcomed and appreciated! **

**THANK YOU!**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter, as always.**

**Cheers!**

**Reviews. It helps.**

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